At the beginning of 2004 Shell Egypt launched the Intilaaqah programme. This is an adaptation of Shell's highly successful LiveWire programme, which is currently running in over 24 countries worldwide and which is targeted at young people to help them set up and run their own businesses. 'Shell in the Middle East' went to Cairo to meet Amr El Kammash, Intilaaqah Programme Manager for Shell Egypt, to find out how the self-help programme is working out, and talked to three of the programme's budding entrepreneurs who are now gainfully employed in developing their own business start-ups. We also talked to representatives of three organisations which are working alongside Shell Egypt to help Intilaaqah make a difference...

"Shell Egypt's Intilaaqah programme was launched in January 2004, and to date we have introduced the programme and its concept to over 1,800 young people in Egypt," says Amr El Kammash, Intilaaqah Programme Manager for Shell Egypt.

"A main objective of Intilaaqah is to increase awareness amongst young people of the career opportunities available to them as entrepreneurs. Intilaaqah is also designed to help change the mind-set that many young people have in Egypt where they see a low-paid but secure job as preferable to the hard work and risks involved in starting up their own businesses.

"Another objective of the programme is, of course, to build the business skills of young people in Egypt today and to assist them in the development of their own businesses and so increase employment opportunities for other young people, to enhance their socio-economic status," he says.

The Intilaaqah programme is rolled out in three stages.

Amr goes on to explain, "The first stage is the Awareness Session. Since the programme began, we have had 1,800 applications from people wishing to attend these sessions, from which we selected 620 as being the most suitable candidates to participate.

"To date, we have had 13 Awareness Sessions, held in such places as the Rotary Club, the British Council, the National Council for Women and in youth clubs, where we can tell young people all about Intilaaqah and its objectives. These sessions last for just a couple of hours and are designed to help the attendees initially understand the criteria required for establishing their own businesses.

"Shell is working in association with the Social Fund for Development [SFD], a semi-governmental organisation, the British Council and the Rotary Club to promote Intilaaqah.

"Members of the Rotary Club have volunteered as trainers to provide help and address the Awareness Sessions. These people are all young businessmen, so they know what they are talking about from a practical point of view. Whilst the British Council has allowed us to use their premises and has promoted the Intilaaqah programme amongst its own people.

"Of the 620 candidates who attended the Awareness Sessions, some 460 young people then applied to join Intilaaqah, and through an intensive selection process 265 were subsequently invited to take part in the second stage, a one-day workshop.

"Eight workshops have been organised by Intilaaqah to give prospective applicants a much more detailed look at what being an entrepreneur is all about, what it means to run and own a business, the risks and the benefits. Moreover, we make them aware of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs.

"There has been a 40 per cent fall-out from the workshops. This is a good thing as we do not want to encourage people who are not suited to being entrepreneurs to try going it alone in business. It would not be good for them nor for the programme, as being an entrepreneur requires special qualities and, of course, some measure of courage.

"The third stage is an intensive all-day training course which lasts for five days, and so far we have trained 38 people on two courses. These sessions are much more intensive and cover a wide range of the business activities involved in managing a small business, such as financial control, marketing and, most importantly, how to conduct a feasibility study and write a business plan.

"It is no good having an idea and being given the training to implement it if the idea is a bad one in the first place and it might not work out. So we place a great deal of importance on the applicants' abilities to produce a comprehensive feasibility study of their aspirations.

"During the preparation of the feasibility study and of the business plan, and before applying for finance, the applicants are invited back for a follow-up session. At these sessions we try to help them with any problems they may be encountering during the market research and we then point them in the right directions, making the necessary introductions wherever possible.

"Some applicants need money, and to get it they have to be able to convince a lender to give it to them. To do this they need to be able to write a business plan which they can then take to the SFD who will look at it and make recommendations which will help them succeed when applying for a loan [through the bank].

"So far five candidates have completed the full process of Shell Egypt's Intilaaqah programme, three of whom have applied to the SFD for financial assistance. The projects being carried out by these three young people include the establishment of a medical equipment company, a telecommunications centre and a sweet and bakery factory.

"Shell Egypt is committed to the Intilaaqah Programme and through its support of the programme we have been able to get off to an excellent start in our first year," concludes Amr.

Wassim Badia

"I heard about Intilaaqah through friends. I made enquiries with Shell and went along to an Intilaaqah Awareness Session and liked what I heard," says Wassim Badia.

"I am a medical physician and trained as a psychologist. My project is to develop a medical equipment company in three stages. The first will involve the maintenance of medical equipment in hospitals and clinics, the second will be the manufacture of some items of medical equipment and the third stage will focus on training.

"I joined the programme after I had attended Intilaaqah's five-day intensive training course. This taught me marketing skills, how to develop a business plan and how to plan the implementation of my project in logical, well-ordered steps. The course also focused on management techniques, in particular, how to manage people. It was very, very useful to me.

"I have applied for financing of about US $15,000 from the SFD and Intilaaqah has helped me to approach them.

"I have nothing but praise for Shell and the Intilaaqah programme and hope that it will go on to help many more young people in Egypt."

Samah Samy

"I heard about Intilaaqah at my local youth club where I saw a poster advertising the programme," says Samah Samy.

"I am a jewellery designer and maker by trade. I am selling everything I can make so I want to expand my business to have my own office, showroom and workshop. To do that I felt I first needed to develop my business skills.

"I went on the Intilaaqah's five-day course to gain a better understanding of management and marketing and of the finance issues surrounding a small business. I had many unanswered questions before attending the course but I am happy to say that the course answered all the important ones and I now feel ready to go forward with my plan. The trainers were excellent and worked through it all with us step by step.

"I am most grateful to Shell Egypt for running the Intilaaqah programme as there are many other young Egyptians out there like me who need the help.

"Through Intilaaqah Shell has given me the confidence to brave the market place and now I feel that I am ready to be a businesswoman in the big wide world," she concludes.

Mohamed Abd El-Menaam

"I am a member of the Rotary Club and attended a presentation Shell made on the Intilaaqah programme," says Mohamed Abd El-Menaam.

"I decided that the course would be good for me so I applied and was accepted. I had already started a business with a friend of mine, producing office furniture under the brand name Square Office Systems.

"We had been experiencing some serious problems in marketing and management and I was hoping that the Intilaaqah programme would help sort these out. Indeed, this was the case and Intilaaqah solved some of my problems but not all. For me, the great thing about the course was that it inspired me take up a new occupation and I am now running a graphic design business as well as the furniture business.

"Shell has been great in providing this opportunity for people like me. It is good to see an international company giving back to the community in which it works and helping to develop the youth of Egypt," he concludes.

"The SFD [Social Fund for Development] works under the umbrella of the Egyptian Cabinet and the UNDP [United Nations Development Programme]," says Yehia El Agami, President of the Small Enterprise Development Organisation at the SFD.

"Its goals are to create jobs through human development and SMEs [Small and Medium Enterprises] in order to help in the relief of poverty.

"The SFD also operates other programmes to aid in the development of women, to provide infrastructure in rural areas and to support SMEs.

"The SFD is essentially a financing organisation which receives its support from a wide range of international organisations as well as from the Government. It is the only organisation in Egypt which provides funds for the start-up of small and micro businesses.

"Since its inception 12 years ago, the SFD has provided over US $800 million in finance to over 200,000 SMEs. Over 120,000 of these have been new business start-ups, whilst the remaining 80,000 were existing businesses which have been provided with additional funding to help them grow.

"These 200,000 businesses have created a total of 800,000 jobs, so I am proud to say that we are working for Egypt and its people," says Yehia.

Taking up the story, Azmy Moustafa, Director of the Technical Bureau at the SFD, says,

"The SFD has also provided more than US $50 million during the last 12 years to create 150,000 micro enterprises, employing over 170,000 people.

"Funds are closely monitored and the SFD follows up its funding with offers of training to provide the young entrepreneurs with the tools for success as well as technical support and assistance after these young people have set up their businesses.

"It is with great pleasure that we have agreed to work with Shell Egypt and support its Intilaaqah programme by offering to provide the necessary funding for projects which are considered to be commercially viable.

"One of the major drawbacks of the SFD is that we have been unable to get our message out to all young people across the country. So Shell and its Intilaaqah programme came along at just the right time and Shell Egypt are now working with us to recruit more young entrepreneurs.

"We know of no company in Egypt, other than Shell, which is conducting such an innovative training course to help young people make their dreams come true," Azmy concludes.

"The Rotary Club is a worldwide organisation of professional people who volunteer their services and time to serve the local community," explains Hossam Heiba, Rotary Club Member. "So when we were contacted by Shell Egypt to assist with the launch and promotion of Intilaaqah we were very interested. As a group of professional people, many of us are ourselves young and we are managing our own businesses so there is a natural alignment. Many of our members have assisted in some of the Intilaaqah sessions and we have promoted Intilaaqah amongst our own members and contacts.

"There is a lack of training opportunities in Egypt and for a private company to make this effort is very good. Of course the real benefit of having Intilaaqah sponsored by Shell is that the name of Shell carries a real sense of credibility, reliability and respect."

Islam El Dera, Rotary Club Member, goes on to say, "Vocational training is a part of the Rotary Club's principles so the concept of Intilaaqah was a natural for us. It is also an excellent opportunity for us to become involved in a worldwide programme which has been tried and tested by Shell for many years now.

"Providing the opportunities for young people to make their own career decisions will help solve some of Egypt's problems of unemployment, and having Shell involved will encourage young people to take part in the programme as Shell has an international reputation for true professionalism," concludes Islam.

"YES stands for the Youth Employment Summit, a global organisation set up to increase work opportunities for young people around the world. The SDA, or Sustainable Development Association, is the NGO [non-governmental organisation] in Egypt which has been appointed as the official representative of YES in Egypt," explains Moataz Nasser Mohamed, SDA representative in Alexandria.

"When we were approached by Amr El Kammash, Intilaaqah's Programme Manager, to assist with the launch of Intilaaqah in Alexandria we were very keen to be of assistance. Training young people to form their own businesses is very much a part of the goal of the SDA and is at the core of all sustainable development activities.

"The SDA set up the first Intilaaqah Awareness Session in Alexandria which was attended by 50 young people from diverse backgrounds. Our role is to be a part of the 'outreach' operation for Intilaaqah by promoting the programme, then filtering and assessing applicants who wish to come to the Awareness Sessions. We then pass on the data to the Intilaaqah people for them to process.

"Young people in Egypt are desperate for training to enable them to have a chance in life and to better their standards of living. With 39 per cent of Egypt's 70 million population between the ages of 15 and 30 years that is 27 million people, many of whom are looking for help.

"So it is a big thank you to Shell Egypt for introducing Intilaaqah to get the ball rolling," concludes Moataz.