national entrepreneurial camp - final report 2012
DESCRIPTION
The National Entrepreneurial Challenge aims to develop a generation of job creators, not job seekers.TRANSCRIPT
National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 1
National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 2
Key Statistics
75%
19%
6%
Average
Good
Excellent
Quality of the program(As rated by the participants)
0
3
6
9
12
15
12 14
Number of Participants
10%Admission rate:
92%Retention rate:
National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 3
11/16
Regions Represented
National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 4
The National Entrepre-neurial Camp came at a very sensitive time in our coun-try and the MENA region as a whole. Not unlike its neighbor-ing countries, Morocco wit-nessed its own uprisings and forms of social unrest. The de-mands of the nation were sim-ple: the right to employment and the right to dignity. Demonstra-tions became increasingly tense, and soon escalated to the point of self-immolation. While these demands were undeniably just and fair, they were often pack-aged in an impossible format; demands for direct employment in government jobs.
The issue of unemployment, especially among the youth, se-
riously threatens the peace and
stability of
the country. Indeed, this can have two drastic effects; on the long term, a frustrated and un-employed youth is very likely to engage in crime, extremism and violence, thus affecting national security and overall stability. On the short term, manifestations and demonstrations can easily drift and suddenly take a wrong turn towards outright violence as it has already happened in a few cities.
“Your dream job does not exist, you must create it!” NEC participant.
Youssef Semlali Yacoubi, Participant From Kenitra
National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 5
In the lights of this event-ful period, we saw the National Entrepreneurial Camp as a way to address youth unemployment through a long term and patient strategy; that of nurturing young entrepreneurs through a revolu-tionary training. The Camp is in the form of a one week pro-gram that aims to introduce the concept of entrepreneurship to a group of 15 to 19 year olds from around Morocco. Our vi-sion is to develop a generation of job creators, not job seekers. Our mission is to find the en-trepreneur in our participants through an innovative process: the process of need identifica-tion, solution design and idea implementation.
The first edition of NEC took place from the 1st to the 8th of July 2012 in the coastal city of Safi, and gathered a group of 26 participants representing 17 cit-
ies. This group was se-
lected from a pool of almost 300 applicants, making it the most competitive group since the cre-ation of our program in 2010.
Amina El Ouadii, Participant from Marrakech
National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 6
The content of our training was inspired by two main sources; Babson College’s entrepreneur-ship curriculum, and the Af-rican Leadership Academy’s leadership curriculum. The day schedule focused on develop-ing entrepreneurial skills, while the evening schedule focused on personal leadership train-ing-an all time favorite by the trainees. Although many com-plained that the program was fully packed, our participants still found it well designed and highly rewarding (over 90% rat-ed it as either excellent or good). The final pitching competition was a great opportunity for our
participants to dem-
onstrate their creativity, and share with the jury the different solutions they designed for their communities’ immediate needs. The external jury selected three winners in the following order: Anas Ziani, Adam Ouajnati, and M’hammed Mouaffak. Ad-ditionally, we-NEC board- se-lected one winner for the pri ze of the most active participant, which happened to be once again and well deservedly M’hammed Mouaffak. This latter prize was in the form of a paid internship at the winner’s organization of choice, and was awarded by our partner organization- Node Af-rica.
Overview of the program
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At the end of the camp, we col-lected anonymous evaluations from our participants on vari-ous aspects of the camp, and the feedback was highly posi-tive. Participants indicated high satisfaction with our program, and said that NEC helped them learn a lot about their entrepre-neurial self. Even better, a cou-ple of them have already started work on their personal projects!
It is true that one week cannot be enough to pass on
all the necessary skills and knowledge
needed in the world of enter-prise management. However, at NEC, it was enough to con-vince a group of young students that they, too, can become suc-cessful entrepreneurs. Perhaps our favorite quote in NEC came from one of our participants af-ter a question on the lessons he learned from the camp. He said: “I learned that your dream job does not exist, you must create it!”
“.. . at NEC, it was enough to convince a group of young students that they, too, can become successful entrepreneurs.”
National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 8
Important Links:
Facebook Page: http://fb.com/National.Entrepreneurial.Challenge
Twitter: http://twitter.com/NEC_Maroc
Email:
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National Entrepreneurial Camp Report 2012 - Page 9
Special Thanks to:Our Official
Sponsors:
and supporters...
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