By Stacia VanDyne | Program Communications
Until very recently, Carmen, a young Palestinian woman studying computer science, never imagined she could start a full-time business doing henna artwork--something she loves but always considered only a hobby.
“I was scared in the beginning,” she said. “I was just practicing my skills... I never had the motivation to turn it into a business, but the Near East Foundation opens the door for us.”
Carmen is one of almost 50 Palestinian women who started their own business in 2013 with Near East Foundation support, thanks to the generosity of donors like you.
The new businesses have created nearly 100 new jobs!
In total, NEF is providing training to 200 Palestinian women entrepreneurs and supporting them in creating 150 new businesses.
On average, women entrepreneurs provide 75% of the start-up capital and NEF contributes the remaining 25%, in addition to ongoing training and mentoring support.
The program allows Carmen and women entrepreneurs like her to plan for their futures knowing they can provide income for themselves. The new businesses range from small farms and bakery operations to retail shops.
Carmen’s future aspirations extend to those like her. “I hope NEF continues to include more women so they can benefit from this program as I have benefitted. And I hope NEF keeps following up with us to help improve and expand our microenterprises,” she said enthusiastically.
THANK YOU for your continuing support of this vital work to create sustainable economic opportunities for impoverished Palestinian women and their families!
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
