Empowerme Equips 86,000+ Youth Across MENA And Türkiye With Future‐Ready Skills In First Year

(MENAFN- Mid-East Info)

• INJAZ Al-Arab and Habitat Association deliver hands‐on training, mentorship, and entrepreneurship at scale under the $6M initiative by the Starbucks Foundation and Alshaya Group
• Inclusion by design: strong participation by young women, refugees, orphans, and vocational/technical students
• Starbucks partners and store‐based learning turn guidance into job‐ and venture‐ready skills

One year on, EmpowerME has equipped more than 86,000 young people across MENA and Türkiye with practical skills for work and entrepreneurship. The program pairs high‐touch learning and mentorship with ambassador‐led local trainings and sessions, meeting youth where they are.

Launched in 2024 by the Starbucks Foundation and Alshaya Group, EmpowerME is a three‐year, USD 6 million partnership to empower 250,000 underserved youth across nine markets. INJAZ Al‐Arab/JA MENA leads implementation in Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE; Habitat Association in Türkiye, Jordan, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan. The model blends experiential programs, scalable webinars, youth ambassador networks, and psychosocial support - delivered in classrooms, community venues, and Starbucks stores.

In Year One, EmpowerME delivered depth and scale across nine markets through two complementary streams. INJAZ Al‐Arab/JA MENA drove venture creation and work‐readiness through intensive, mentor‐led programs and scalable webinars. Habitat Association, meanwhile, mobilized youth ambassador networks in Türkiye and Jordan and ran a regional entrepreneurship pipeline - bootcamps, a hackathon, and an International Acceleration Program - meeting young people where they are: in classrooms, community venues, and coffeehouses.

The result: more than 86,000 youth engaged, strong participation by young women and priority groups, and a growing network of mentors and ambassadors turning learning into outcomes.

Voices from the partnership:

“By opening our stores as learning spaces and connecting youth to mentors who believe in their potential, we're seeing practical skills turn into confidence and real pathways to work,” said Mohammad Mahmoud Al Najjar, Senior Vice President of Starbucks at Alshaya Group.“We're grateful to our partners at INJAZ Al Arab/JAMENA and Habitat Association, and to our Starbucks partners who volunteered their time and expertise.”

“Youth across the region want to build, not just study - launching ventures, solving real problems, and preparing for the future of work,” added Akef Aqrabawi, CEO of INJAZ Al‐Arab/JA MENA.“With EmpowerME, we delivered that experience at scale, with strong participation by women and targeted support for refugees, orphans, and vocational students.”

“Training youth ambassadors in 61 provinces, and now expanding in Jordan, means we meet young people where they live and learn,” stated Bora Caldu, Chair of the Executive Committee of Habitat Association.“Combining foundational training with entrepreneurship bootcamps, acceleration, psychosocial support, and sessions in Starbucks stores is building a locally rooted pipeline of youth ready to lead.”

Year One Outcomes:

INJAZ Al‐Arab/JA MENA (FY 2024-25)

• 41,769 youth engaged across Egypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE, including 5,013 in intensive, hands‐on programs; a further 36,756 joined scalable webinars and short‐format sessions.
• Inclusion among intensive cohorts: 3,710 young women; 3,221 youth facing barriers to opportunity; 1,174 vocational/technical students; with refugee and orphan participation across several markets.
• 61 Starbucks partners volunteered as mentors, coaches, and judges across more than 82 engagements, alongside 611 community volunteers.
• Portfolio included the Company Program; Innovation Day Camps (Well-being & Social Entrepreneurship; Female Empowerment); Sustainability & Green Entrepreneurship; employability pathways; and Youth Entrepreneurship Celebration (YEC) activation.

Habitat Association (YTD 2025)

• Türkiye: 149 trained youth ambassadors from 61 provinces delivered 572 local trainings since January, reaching 42,108 youth in schools, universities, youth centers, municipal venues, Habitat stations, and Starbucks stores across 40 cities; monthly sessions at the Istanbul Community Store began in June. With the participation of sector experts, four career planning webinars were organized, providing support to 204 young people to help them gain competencies for their professional lives.
• Jordan: 23 newly trained ambassadors have reached over 2,400 youth since April; seven psychosocial support workshops served 201 participants (at least half from refugee communities), with 12 workshops planned for the year. Ambassadors also came together with young people during the Starbucks store trainings in the Kingdom.
• Entrepreneurship pipeline (Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan): 428 youth participated in bootcamps and a hackathon; 14 teams advanced to the International Acceleration Program culminating in a Demo Day in Istanbul. At the end of the Demo Day, the three winning startups received a total grant support of $17,500.

Looking ahead, INJAZ will expand EmpowerME into Morocco, Bahrain, and Qatar - growing its footprint from five to eight markets - and enhance hybrid delivery and mentor matching so volunteers align even more closely with student needs. Habitat will scale the ambassador‐led network in Jordan toward a 3,500+ youth target by year‐end, complete all 12 psychosocial support workshops, and continue store‐based learning in Türkiye and Jordan to keep access high during school breaks. Together, the partners will deepen inclusion and strengthen green and digital skills, keeping EmpowerME on track to equip 250,000 youth with future‐ready capabilities over three years.

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