Development Blogs.com

As unemployment rates keep rising in the countries of the Middle East and North Africa, CIPE partners in the region are helping to reinforce the need for entrepreneurship, market-oriented and democratic societies. Over the next few weeks, CIPE is releasing a series of success stories video clips in which partners talk about their successes in advocating for local entrepreneurship initiatives, good governance and public-private dialogue. These private-sector organizations are advocating for policies that remove barriers to business and create a more level playing field for entrepreneurs to create the jobs and opportunity the region needs. In this video, the Executive Director of the Palestinian Business Women Forum (BWF), Doa Wadi, highlights the journey BWF has taken, as well as...

Students in last year's graduating class from the New York Institute of Technology's Jordan Branch. Commencement ceremonies took place in New York. (Photo: Emiratesweekly.net) Graduation season is upon us, a milestone every student looks forward to. It marks the end of a culmination of years spent in libraries and classrooms, and the start of life in the “real world.” Unfortunately though for thousands of students graduating in the Middle East, the real world is nothing more than an unemployment line soon after getting out of the line to get their degree. It’s a seemingly endless system of waiting. Entrepreneurship is frequently pinpointed as the most effective way for those without much experience or political clout to engage in their country’s economic development....

While Mohamed ElBaradei and his National Association for Change (NAC) movement dominated  international and national headlines during the month-long lead-up to their first major protest on May 3, a much smaller, but potentially more significant event passed with very little fanfare and media interest. On March 31,  the leadership committee of the Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt’s largest political opposition bloc, met and discussed ways to co-operate with the leadership of El Tagammu, a well known, but marginalized socialist political party. It is the first time, since perhaps the late 1970’s, that both parties officially convened. It is also a clear sign that the NAC, which has already succeeded in enlisting the moderate leadership of the Muslim Brotherhood, is seeking to mend fences...

Al-Saadi, Chairman of the Iraqi Securities Commission, (seated fourth from the left) at the CIPE headquarters in Washington, DC last week. (Photo: CIPE) On April 28, CIPE hosted Chairman Abdel Razzak Al-Saadi of the Iraqi Securities Commission (ISC), at its headquarters in Washington, DC. Although Iraq is still emerging from conflict and facing sizeable security threats, Chairman Al-Saadi is optimistic and reiterated that Iraq is open for business. Since its inception in 2004,the ISC has listed over 90 companies to the Iraqi Stock Exchange. With new investment and entrepreneurship blooming in Iraq, the country has a window of opportunity to rebuild much of what the conflict has damaged or destroyed. Mr. Al-Saadi stressed that unemployment remains a significant problem in the region, as...

Several countries in the MENA region — including Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Jordan, and Syria — have undergone recent government reshuffles with the heads of state changing the composition of ministers in their cabinet. In the MENA context, reshuffles are often presented as a response to internal and external necessities such as the global economic crisis, decentralization, national integrity, intra-party politics, and democratic and economic reform. However, the true reasons behind reshuffles usually remain undocumented because of censorship. Reshuffling decisions are often made by the heads of state, and local media cannot speculate freely on the motives behind them. All publications deemed critical of high officials are usually banned or suspended, and the laws in most MENA...

Given the Ottoman Empire’s history in the Middle East, Turkey’s secularism upon the founding of the republic has left many with a less than favorable perception of the country among Arab states. However, the tide seems to be changing. Anyone who has lived in the Middle East or at least visited an Arab household has witnessed the predominance of a soap opera culture that engrosses men, women, and children alike. One of the most popular soap operas in the Middle East currently is in fact a Turkish series entitled Gumus (or Noor in Arabic), and it’s safe to say that it has helped “conquer hearts and minds in the Arab world.” It’s not just the striking good looks of the lead characters that appeals to the Arab viewers; the series also tackles contentious norms that a...

Participants at a Provincial Investment Commission conference in December 2008, convened by CIPE. Meetings such as these continue laying the groundwork for prosperity in Iraq. (Photo: CIPE) After years of extraordinary violence, Iraq has now shifted its focus significantly from security and stabilization to improving economic growth. The refrain that Iraq is open for business has become a rallying cry of both the American and Iraqi administrations. While many may perceive this statement to be an overly optimistic slogan that glosses over the reality of still frequent violent attacks, they would be incorrect to assume that it entirely inaccurate. Iraq has experienced a new investment whirlwind in the last year. The government of Iraq awarded contracts to develop 10 oil fields in Iraq in...

One of Djezzy’s ads at Algiers International Airport Houari Boumediene‎ in the Algerian capital of Algiers. (Photo: CIPE) Most Algerians — from business to government to families — would agree that the partial privatization of telecommunications in Algeria has widened their choices of service-providers and deals, and has contributed to the development and growth of the communications industry in Algeria. Most Algerians would also agree that and an advanced telecommunications technology is a vital part of Algeria’s infrastructure and development, is essential to the health and competitiveness of the Algerian industry locally, regionally and internationally, and is a key enabler of productivity across the Algerian economy and society. Three mobile companies currently...

Models wear creations by Moroccan designer Fadilah Berrada (r) during the show 'collection 2010' in Casablanca on April 17, 2009. From February 24-25, 2010, the Forum on Mediterranean Women took place in the Tunisian capital of Tunis, with the theme, “Generate New Opportunities for Mediterranean Women.” Participants discussed how to strengthen women’s entrepreneurship in Mediterranean counties and introducing new business opportunities for women. Maghrebi women representing different sectors were in attendance, giving them also the chance individually to network and discuss ways to promote entrepreneurship — a term that did not exist in Arabic until recently. Such gatherings are crucial for continuing to build on what Maghrebi women have laid down as a foundation for...

Imagine when the light at the end of this tunnel is the best option you have to make a living. (http://www.flickr.com/photos/anarkistix/3465630928/) Foreign Policy published an article recently detailing Gaza’s literal underground economy. Goods come and go not over borders but under, through a great and growing number of tunnels stretching between the blockaded Gaza Strip and Egypt’s Sinai territory. The tunnel trade, with its informal and ungoverned nature, is Gaza’s economy.  Once used to smuggle weapons, the tunnels are now used to transport everything from baby formula to automobiles. Without basic property rights or a governing authority, tunnels proliferate, working conditions for tunnel diggers and operators decline, and competition begets violence.  It...

Iraqi women after voting. It’s true that this election in Iraq is significantly different from the last one in 2005; however, we should be aware that this is a classic reminder that elections do not equal democracy. As ballots are counted and results tallied, a growing civil society is not-so-quietly preparing to voice Iraqi needs and concerns on a multitude of issues. Individuals in this election campaigned more on issues than on religious and ethnic platforms, and the leading Shia cleric consistently remained neutral. But as ballots are painstakingly being counted, plenty of political parties who are not in the lead are filing hundreds of complaints alleging voter intimidation, and ballot tampering. Although widespread fraud has not been reported after Iraq’s elections, the...

Students graduating at Birzeit University. (Photo: Abbas Momani / AFP-Getty Images) The ongoing violent conflict in Palestine, the constant friction between different political factions, the economic sanctions and stifling restrictions on movement of people and goods don’t seem to discourage Palestinian women from the workplace. In fact, it is these dire circumstances that have forced women to find work and set-up their involvement in work in the public spheres. The collapse of the Palestinian economy, which moved from being a middle income economy to one that is now immensely aid-dependent in the span of one decade, is causing a systematic change in women’s traditional roles. According to the findings of a report by CARE International, The World Bank and the Women’s Studies...

Haifa Wehbe, a popular singer in Lebanon, dons an LTA t-shirt for the BLOM Beirut Marathon. When you live and work in a region where daily life accessories may include shoulder-mounted missiles and backpack bombs, efforts to reduce corruption have plenty of incentive to be as creative as possible. The Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) is the Lebanon chapter of Transparency International, and rather than investigating or exposing individual cases of corruption, which might invite a few unwanted accessories, LTA focuses on systemic factors that create situations for bribery, nepotism, patronage, embezzlement, and other forms of corruption. If you’re interested in asking LTA what it’s like to do this kind of work, you can ask them yourself, later today on Facebook. LTA is...

Residents look on as rioters clash with police last December in Algiers. (WSJ) In the weeks since Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika launched a probe into Sonatrach, the country’s largest state gas company, a different, more compelling narrative has emerged which points to the powerful Department of Security Intelligence (DRS) as the origin of the probe. That is, the investigation and removal of Sonatrach’s top officials is seen as a direct affront to Bouteflika’s civilian control over Algeria’s lucrative oil and gas industry, which accounts for 98 percent of exports. Why on earth would Bouteflika launch an anti-corruption drive which weakens his own Minister of Energy, Chakib Khelil, who is one of his closest allies? If civilian-military power struggles are a central...

An IRI Training in Morocco. (IRI) On June 12 2009, 3,324 women were elected to local councils throughout the Kingdom of Morocco, representing nearly 12 percent of the total seats under contention. Thanks to an electoral quota system pursued by women’s rights advocates, this percentage dramatically increases the representation of women in elected government. Winning electoral campaigns is likely the easiest hurdle these courageous women will have to overcome. Women in elected office are often seen simply as a rubber stamp for the initiatives of their male colleagues and consigned to only managing issues limited to family, social affairs or health care. Recent reforms in Morocco aimed to address this issue have resulted in momentum for women’s participation in politics that may...

A worker checks a switch linked to a generator that distributes electricity to residents in Beirut. (Photo: AFP/ JOSEPH BARRAK) A few months ago, the Lebanese Anti-Bribery Network—an initiative of the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA) supported by CIPE—organized a roundtable in Beirut to discuss a draft policy paper on good governance in the Lebanese electricity sector, with representatives of the national utilities company Electricité du Liban present. In an eerie strike of irony, an hour into the event, the hotel hosting the roundtable experienced a power shortage that resulted in a brief blackout. A recent working paper by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicated that reducing electricity constraints to business could raise per capita GDP by up to two percent...

In a recent article published in The National on corporate governance in the Arab region, Amina Taher highlights the historical antecedents for good governance. She invokes Caliph Omar Ibn Al Khattab—who in 600 AD was the first Muslim ruler to implement laws governing business—but laments that over time such practices have dissipated, giving way to rent-seeking and wasta. In order to remedy the lack of transparency and institutional safeguards for stronger governance across the region, Taher offers key ingredients for advancing corporate governance. First and foremost is the need for stronger institutions backed by committed leadership. Only a “top-down philosophy” can bring public and private sector elites in-line that otherwise might be unable to overcome incentives for misusing...

The street vendor is a ubiquitous feature of urban life virtually everywhere in the world.  Food served from a battered cart, jewelry on rickety table, local souvenirs laid in neat rows on a blanket (ready to be pulled up by the corners at the first sign of the police). Street vendors are often viewed as an urban nuisance even in the most developed of economies – recall Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s war on vendors, legal or otherwise, in New York City in the 1990s.  The Federation of Economic Development Associations (FEDA), a grassroots federation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Egypt, knew that this would be an issue that would capture attention when its launched its own program aimed at this unlikely group of small business owners. Still, FEDA has sparked...

It’s funny when a survey is released how everyone becomes an amateur statistician.  I’m guilty of it, too - the first thing I do when I get a survey is flip with a skeptical eye to the methodology page. Of course, methodology is an important element of understanding a survey’s data.  But often, methodology is attacked to distract attention from the elephant in the room - the uncomfortable truth that a survey can reveal. CIPE Egypt, in cooperation with the Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS), recently released a survey of nearly 800 Egyptian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) about their experiences with corruption (results here).  Corruption is endemic in all aspects of Egyptian life.  Transparency International’s 2008...

The legendary Roy Rees literally wrote the book on coaching soccer, which featured his famous line, “Practice doesn’t make perfect; practice makes permanent.” Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki visited the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today, along with U.S. National Security Advisor General James L. Jones (Ret.), and the Chairman of the Iraq National Investment Commission, Dr. Sami Al-Araji to highlight the economic opportunities for U.S. businesses in Iraq. The pressure’s now on the Iraqi business community. Have they been practicing? Iraq’s struggle to develop as a market-based democracy is a crucial bellwether for the region. To accelerate development toward authentic markets and democracy, nothing is more effective than increasing the breadth and depth...

Several years back, I had the privilege (and challenge!) of teaching English for a couple years in a rural village in Central Asia. Almost before I got out my very first “Good morning, class!” my students were asking me why they should even bother learning a language they would never use. Ah ha! I had come to class prepared; I told them that [1] learning any new language is a good mental exercise and can help us understand things about other cultures as well as our own, [2] knowing English gives you a huge advantage in a developing economy – many of the new job opportunities opening up (in IT or tourism, for example) almost require English proficiency, and [3] you just never know when it might come in handy. My answers were met with blank looks. I could hear the placid chewing of...

With inflation and political backtracking competing with trends of economic growth in the Middle East and North Africa, the link between economic and political reform has increasingly come under scrutiny in the region.  It was a prevailing theme in the recent roundtable that CIPE held for key partners from Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, and Yemen in Hammamet, Tunisia. Leading private sector organizations from around the region shared successful reform approaches, focusing on entrepreneurship, advocacy, public-private dialogue, and corporate governance.  Many of these programs underscore the need for institutions that promote better economic policies and expand growth dividends across a broader segment of society.  It was interesting to see partners not...

With the price of oil at its record highs, it can be hard to imagine that key exporters thereof, six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) may currently be facing economic problems of any kind. The signs of prosperity seems to be all around as gleaming towers rise in the middle of the desert and guests arrive by helicopter at the world’s only seven-star hotel, Dubai’s sail-shaped Burj al-Arab. And yet not all is well. A somewhat unexpected addition to the region’s stunning architecture is a… diabetes center in Abu Dhabi. Nearly one-fifth of the UAE’s native population now suffers from diabetes and the statistics are not much better in the rest of the GCC. A result of more sedentary lifestyle and...

With the world’s eye squarely focused on Iraq, much less attention is being paid to the challenges – and opportunities – for democratic and market reform elsewhere in the Middle East. Yemen, for instance, has recently come into the media focus because of an attempted Al-Qaida attack against the U.S. embassy that injured 13 students leaving a nearby school. But the domestic context of this attack remains poorly understood. Yemen has an important choice to make. If the entrenched disfunctionalities in its political and economic systems persist, it will be headed toward anarchy or even a failed state. But if reforms continue, it may well become a regional example of progress in building democratic and market institutions. Yemen is facing significant internal security problems...

An intensifying demographic transition in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region calls for creating as many as 100 million new jobs in the next decade in order to accommodate the increasing number of entrants into the labor force. The shortcomings of past economic reforms foreshadow a massive labor crisis and potential social instability as the rising wave of youth unemployment sweeps through the region. But MENA may also have at hand a unique window of opportunity for sustained growth and development, provided that long-overdue institutional reforms – both economic and political – are introduced. The key to successful reforms lies in understanding the profound interconnections between well-functioning markets and democratic governance. They both rely on the same set of core...

How do you get the attention of politicians? Egypt’s small business federation simply whisked them away during their lunch break… Traditionally, small businesses across Egypt received little attention from the government. Although market reforms began in the 1990s, commercial laws affecting small business remained antiquated or were geared toward big business. The prime minister saw no need for legislation fostering small business growth, and parliament never consulted small business owners about their needs. When the Federation of Economic Development Associations (FEDA) decided it was time it got heard, it rented two buses and parked them outside the Parliament. As members of parliament exited their first session of the day, they were greeted by FEDA representatives who invited them...