Main Project Partners:
Mindmill, Bright Language, Pearson Education, Edexcel
Contact: info@silatech.com
Project Name: Sila Angel Investment Network
Inception date: October 2012
Current status: Operational
Expected outcomes: This regional angel investment network is expected to mobilize investment opportunities for up to 18 startups by the end of 2013, contributing to the knowledge economy sector of Qatar and spurring interest in and awareness of the angel investment model. Upon successful implementation of the pilot in Qatar, the network will be upscaled to the regional level.
Partner(s): Enterprise Qatar (EQ), Qatar Development Bank (QDB), Bedaya Center (Founding Partners); Qatar Foundation (Knowledge Partner)
Countries covered: Qatar, regional (after pilot)
Description: The regional angel investment network is an initiative that aims to match startup and early stage entrepreneurs from across the MENA region with “business angels” to provide them with startup and growth capital. The program also includes various educational and awareness programs for entrepreneurs and prospective business angels.
Project Name: Tamheed
Inception date: September 2010
Current status: Launched April 2011. As of October 2012, 50 advisors are delivering services in 13 centers.
Expected outcomes: 100 centers providing career advice to 10,000+ young people by end of 2012; 500 centers and 100,000 young people by 2015
Partner(s): Mindmill; Bright Language
Countries covered: Regional
Description: Tamheed delivers quality career advice and placement support services to be available scale. It provides youth-serving organizations (YSOs) with a complete toolkit for setting up a sustainable career advising practice. This includes highly predictive and user-friendly psychometric assessments from UK-based Mindmill delivered online in Arabic, English and French, the results of which can be used for both advice guidance and screening; advisor training and automated reports; language assessments from Bright Language; and, a framework for career advising that creates an action plan towards career success. Tamheed career guidance services are provided in physical career centers, as well as online. Tamheed is also integrated into Silatech’s and Microsoft's online employability portals (such as MasrWorks.com). Tamheed’s psychometric assessments are also used by employers and training institutions to support the screening and selection of candidates, helping match candidates with the best-fit opportunities, while supporting the overall sustainability of the initiative.
Project Name: SilaQual
Inception date: May 2009
Current status: Established, services offered on a sustainable basis through partnership with Pearson
Expected outcomes: Making international levels of quality assurance accessible to public and civil society training centers in Arab world
Partner(s): Pearson Education, Edexcel
Countries covered: Regional
Description: SilaQual is a regional awarding body that accredits trainees and training centers at an international standard, creating an evidence-based bridge of trust between education institutions and employers. The accreditation of centers by SilaQual provides the necessary quality assurance framework through which high performing training centers can be incentivized to grow through connection with funding as well as manpower organizations. SilaQual makes international level of quality accreditations accessible to public sector institutes from a price, language, and capacity point of view.