Microsoft Egypt and the United Nations Development Program came together at the first-of-its-kind FreelanceME Summit in Egypt on June 28th. In hopes to expand the freelancing industry in the country, a new initiative was created by the United Nations Development Program in collaboration with Microsoft, called FreelanceME .
FreelanceME is a social development initiative that aims to take advantage of young Egyptians' talents while honing and developing their skills. They are also actively promoting promising small and medium businesses while enabling Egyptian youth to grow their professional network and grow professionally even if they have minimal experience in the field.
“In Egypt, where 62% of the population is under the age of 29, youth present a tremendous potential and we believe they hold the key to their own empowerment. This is why we are delighted to be part of the innovative solution "FreelanceME" that addresses unemployment, a key barrier to youth empowerment,” said Ignacio Artaza, United Nations Development Program country director, according to Egypt Independent.
Microsoft Citizenship Program lead Ghada Khalifa saw the FreelanceME initiative as a getaway and tool to empower Egyptian youth while broadening their experiences in areas such as marketing, management and sales.
The FreelanceME summit proved to be a huge success with over 180 young Egyptians attending. The summit was also an attempt to raise awareness about the freelancing industry in Egypt by shedding light on the benefits of freelancing.