In 2023, our support created 418 new businesses and 914 new jobs for youth.
Challenges remain, opportunities are many
In 2023, youth faced many protracted challenges, as well as new crises: from the earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, to the floods in Libya and the war in Gaza, among others. Throughout these difficult moments, SPARK and its partners have supported 3,389 entrepreneurs with business skills training, coaching and mentoring, facilitated 1,025 startups and SMEs with access to finance, matched 763 youth with new jobs, provided employability training to 2,374 people, all leading to the creation of 418 new businesses and 914 new jobs.
Some of our highlights in 2023
Celebrating women in the digital world
During International Women’s Day, we joined the global #DigitALL celebration of women in tech. At SPARK, we work to close the digital divide for young people, including women and refugees, living in fragile and conflict-affected regions. We highlighted some of the programmes that focus on this, take a look.
Uniting green entrepreneurs in Jordan
We unveiled an impactful mural in the Khalda neighbourhood of Amman, Jordan. The mural features one of SPARK’s green entrepreneurs surrounded by key messages relating to the campaign, such as “Environmental equity,” “Save the planet,” “Innovation,” and “Green Entrepreneurship”. Beyond its artistic impact, the mural serves as a reminder of the world of possibilities which comes with sustainable entrepreneurship.
Modernising the fishing sector in Burundi
With financing from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, SPARK has built the Samaki Centre close to Rumonge, with facilities for cleaning, drying, smoking and freezing excess catch. The walk-in freezer can hold 800 kg of fish and an adjoining cold room has capacity of 2000 kg, which can keep the fish fresh for longer periods. The introduction of the freezer has helped to stabilise the fluctuating supply in the market, which lowers the price when there is oversupply.
During times of crises, we worked together with our partners.
Earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria
Since 2015, SPARK has had a strong presence in Gaziantep, southeastern Türkiye. When the earthquakes struck, we worked together with our partners to support people affected, including many Syrian refugees. Almost a year on, the earthquake has been detrimental to the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of the region. SPARK continues to work to enhance the operational capacity of its 20+ partners in the earthquake-affected zones, supporting them to restart and rebuild their operations so they can continue to support the higher education and entrepreneurial ecosystems around them.
Mourning the loss of partners in Gaza
As the war in Gaza continues to destroy lives, in 2023 SPARK tragically mourned the loss of several partners including Mr. Tariq Thabet, Senior Programs Manager at UCAS Technology Incubator, with whom we had partnered for over three years. With strong partner organisations in Gaza within the education and entrepreneurship development ecosystem, SPARK has supported thousands of young Palestinians with higher education, skills development, job and entrepreneurship opportunities. We continue to fear for the safety of our partners, participants and staff, as well as the long-term impact of such destruction on the economic development of the region.
With our partners, in 2023 we took our IGNITE conference to three cities.
We also appointed a new Board of Directors!
From January 2024, SPARK’s Supervisory Board has appointed Mr. Simon van Melick who, after more than a decade at SPARK, will take up the helm as the organisation’s new CEO. He is accompanied in the Board of Directors by Ms. Christel Bultman, SPARK’s Chief Operating Officer, who joined the organisation in December 2023.
Finally, our gratitude goes to the partners, donors and the ambitious youth we support. Your tireless work has contributed to the economic recovery and stability of many in 2023. Thank you.