- Aspiring young entrepreneurs and agribusiness innovators in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon are invited to apply to the UNITAR RISE LAB Igniting Youth Potential in Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon through Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Economic Resilience programme.
- The programme will prepare young entrepreneurs, aged 18-40, to transform their ideas for enhancing food security into viable businesses or to scale existing ventures.
- The programme will run from May 2025 to March 2026, with two online phases and a final in-person phase.
- It is supported by the Government and people of Japan and offered free of charge to all participants.
- Deadline for applications is 20 June 2025 (midnight, UTC+3).
UNITAR
26 May 2025, Hiroshima, Japan - Aspiring entrepreneurs and agribusiness innovators in Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon are invited to apply to the UNITAR RISE LAB Igniting Youth Potential in Egypt, Iraq, and Lebanon through Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Economic Resilience. This programme will equip young entrepreneurs and innovators with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to transform their ideas into businesses or grow and scale their current business.
Supported by the Government and people of Japan, the programme is open to 500 motivated and qualified young individuals aged 18–40 from Egypt, Iraq and Lebanon who have either an existing business or a concrete idea that can be developed into one that aims to enhance food security and develop the private sector.
By the end of the programme, participants will have a launch-ready blueprint for their new businesses or be ready to pitch their existing businesses for growth. Participants will also build lifelong connections with fellow youth entrepreneurs in their country and beyond.
The programme is scheduled to run from May 2025 to March 2026 in three phases. The first two phases will be held online, combining self-paced lessons, discussion forums, webinars and lectures by subject matter experts with both regional and global exposure. The third will be an in-person workshop, location to be confirmed, bringing together top-performing participants to represent each country. This phase is geared towards experiential learning, peer-to-peer networking, mentorship and study tours.
The deadline for applications is midnight 20 June 2025 (UTC+3). Women and men from disadvantaged backgrounds and involved in agribusiness are especially encouraged to apply.
Application details
Who can apply?
- Women and youth in Egypt, Iraq or Lebanon
- Age: 18-40
- Entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, innovators, and recent graduates
- Those who have an existing business and would like to acquire more knowledge to scale their operations
- Those who do not have an existing business but have a concrete idea that can be developed into a business
Women and men from disadvantaged backgrounds and involved in agribusiness are especially encouraged to apply.
How can you apply?
The deadline is midnight 20 June 2025 (UTC+3).
What will you learn?
By the end of the programme, participants will be able to apply the following skills:
Economic and Employment-Related Skills
- Use entrepreneurial methodologies, tools and best practices to develop solutions for food security challenges and introduce innovative concepts.
- Identify alternative sources of employment and opportunities for livelihood during economic downturns and periods of food scarcity.
- Apply strategic management and innovation techniques and tools to their projects/initiatives.
- Evaluate value chains to pinpoint key areas to address food insecurity, considering their anticipated outcomes, resource utilization and impact on other public health, economic and gender equality issues.
Technical and Innovation Skills
- Identify appropriate technological innovations, including climate-resilient agricultural and aquacultural practices and uses of digital technologies, including AI, to overcome environmental obstacles, bolster community resilience and tackle food insecurity.
Collaboration and Partnership Skills
- Establish and sustain public-private partnerships and facilitate connections between grassroots/smallholder farmers and local/regional markets, enabling access to: Local, regional and global supply chains.
Who will run the programme?
This programme is designed and implemented by the Resilient Ideas and Sustainable Entrepreneurship (RISE) LAB of the Division for Prosperity. The RISE LAB team specializes in training programmes and learning activities in the areas of sustainable entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, innovation, leadership, financial and digital literacy.
About UNITAR
The United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) is a dedicated training arm of the United Nations. In 2024, UNITAR trained over 550,000 learners around the world to support their actions for a better future. UNITAR has a global presence, with offices in Geneva, Hiroshima, New York, and Bonn, as well as networks around the world. Find out more at unitar.org