Bab Rizq Jameel, an affiliate of Abdul Latif Jameel (ALJ) Group, has created nearly 400,000 job opportunities in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco and Turkey in 10 years, creating a significant difference in the lives of thousands in the region, said Ibrahim Badawood, managing director of ALJ Community Initiatives.
Addressing the opening session of a manpower-training program at the Islamic Development Bank, he described BRJ as a successful and profitable business venture. “BRJ is a self-sustaining venture. It can create many jobs and meet the needs of people,” he said.
BRJ has been a success and many organizations in the Kingdom and other parts of the Middle East have begun emulating the program. It has 36 branches in the Arab world and Turkey, with more than 700 full-time job creators.
Bab Rizq Jameel means “Beautiful gateway to prosperity” in Arabic, as it has proved since 2003.
IDB and Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) jointly organized the training program, which will continue through Wednesday.
Badawood urged the IDB and J-PAL team to explore prospects of cooperation in the vital area of job creation as it plays a significant role in accelerating social and economic development.
“BRJ would be interested to partner with IDB and J-PAL for a job creation research program in the Arab world and MENA region,” Badawood said.
He emphasized the importance of acting quickly in order to take advantage of the population bubble as an opportunity to create greater prosperity.
In his keynote speech, Badawood described unemployment as one of the most pressing problems in the Middle East. About 60 percent of population in the region is under 30 and MENA accounts for 25 percent of youth unemployment.
“Since 2003, ALJ Community Initiatives has launched numerous global and regional programs such as artistic and educational projects, job creation activities and poverty alleviation initiatives,” he said.
ALJCI already has a long history of providing scholarships for students at MIT and since 2006 has been associated with J-PAL as well. With ALJCI support, J-PAL work based on randomized evaluations has improved the daily lives of millions of people worldwide, he said.
Ahmed Tiktit, IDB’s vice-president for cooperation and capacity development and Birema Sidibé, vice president for operations, attended the opening session.
Abhijit Banerjee, professor of Economics, MIT, and director, J-Pal Global; Dean Karlan, professor of economics, Yale University; Bruno Crepon, associate professor, ENSAE et École Polytechnique; and Karen Macours, associate professor of economics, PSE Ecole d’Economie de Paris will conduct the training.
Impact evaluation seeks to respond to the growing demand of donors and beneficiaries for measurable results of development interventions carried out by development banking institutions around the world.
The training is therefore in line with IDB’s drive to improve the quality of its interventions and showcase results on the ground.
