2025 demanded resilience from the communities SPARK serves and from SPARK itself. The war in Gaza deepened an already severe humanitarian crisis in Palestine, Lebanon’s economic collapse persisted, and instability in Iraq, Libya and Syria continued to limit opportunities for young people and small businesses. In Sub-Saharan Africa, climate shocks and rising living costs placed further strain on already fragile economies.

Donor funding also became less predictable, and SPARK made deliberate choices to prioritise stability over expansion,  strengthening internal systems, planning realistically, and rebuilding confidence among donors and partners. Despite this, SPARK delivered meaningful results across over 12 countries, strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems, supporting green and digital transitions, and working closely with a diverse network of local organisations who played a central role in delivering impact.

SPARK’s work in 2025 continued to focus on strengthening entrepreneurial ecosystems, expanding access to skills and finance, and supporting young people and SMEs across fragile and conflict-affected regions.

The year saw a major expansion in labour-market-aligned skills development, with 27,331 participants receiving employability training, reflecting the scale-up of Green Forward and other programmes prioritising green, digital and agribusiness skills. Internship and traineeship placements reached 863, supported by stronger partnerships with local employers. Entrepreneurship support remained central: 689 businesses were created or supported to grow through targeted diagnostics, coaching and market-linkage support, 1,263 entrepreneurs received tailored coaching or business skills training, and 291 entrepreneurs accessed finance. Supported businesses generated 324 new jobs, and SPARK strengthened 341 local partner organisations investing in the institutions, market systems and private-sector capacity through which long-term impact is increasingly realised.

SPARK’s long-term contribution remains substantial: since 2010, more than 14,800 entrepreneurs have accessed finance and over 85,000 have received business skills training.

In 2025, SPARK commissioned external evaluations for three major programmes, providing an independent assessment of progress, relevance and sustainability across diverse and fragile contexts. Together, the evaluations confirmed that SPARK’s interventions continued to strengthen entrepreneurial ecosystems, expand economic opportunities, and support youth and SMEs in navigating increasingly complex environments.

From Innovation to Creation (ENI) across Tunisia, Palestine, Jordan and Lebanon which strengthened 112 innovation support organisations, trained 175 trainers, and delivered 118 training modules on entrepreneurship, innovation and investment readiness. Financial support included 35 sub-grants and 154 seed-funding awards, while 519 SMEs received training and coaching to grow and internationalise. Policy engagement expanded through 39 policy events involving 454 policymakers, complemented by media outreach reaching 1.34 million people.

Akazi Keza concluded in Burundi having created 5,689 jobs (91% for youth, 32% for women), supported 1,052 interns in which 616 of whom transitioned to permanent employment, and strengthened 427 enterprises through market-driven training and proximity coaching.

GWIZA also concluded in Rwanda, enabling RWF 1.07 billion in loans to 468 MSMEs, creating 906 new jobs and safeguarding 1,399 more, across a predominantly women-led portfolio (57%). 91% of supported MSMEs were still operating after 12 months.

Across all three, evaluators affirmed SPARK’s contribution to job creation and SME growth, while recommending stronger sustainability planning, deeper private-sector engagement and improved long-term employment tracking.

In 2025, SPARK strengthened its communications presence across global, regional and country channels, with a sharper focus on localisation and targeted engagement. Across all platforms, audience growth reached 110,550 (+120.9% on 2024), post link clicks reached 189,045 (+114.4%), and content was viewed 24.7 million times (+24.0%).

SPARK’s digital ecosystem continued to expand, with more than 31,800 followers on SPARK Middle East Facebook and over 30,400 on Networks of Change, underscoring the role of country and thematic pages in driving local engagement. Globally, Instagram surpassed 14,000 followers and LinkedIn surpassed 21,000. 63 videos published across the SPARK and NOC YouTube channels generated more than 200 hours of watch time, and 20 stories were published on spark.ngo highlighting programme achievements, partner contributions and impact in fragile and conflict-affected contexts.

SPARK was also visible where it matters most — in the regions themselves. Over the year, SPARK took part in the Strengthening Localisation & Sustainability Partnerships Forum in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, the MENA YES Summit in Jordan, the Green Forward Conference in Palestine, and ecosystem-building events in Tunisia. A highlight of the year was SPARK’s team in Palestine winning the Digital Prosperity Award for ethical digital inclusion, recognising the Palestine Launchpad programme delivered in partnership with Udacity and Google.

The Annual Report provides comprehensive information on SPARK’s activities throughout the preceding year. Published with the approval of the Supervisory Board, the SPARK Annual Report is testament to the priority we place on transparency and accountability.