UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East) selected the services of PEM to design, organize and deliver a comprehensive training of trainers (ToT) package to develop entrepreneurial skills for young start-up entrepreneurs from Palestinian refugee camps in Syria.

This was done by using the Competency-based Economies through Formation of Enterprise (CEFE) methodology and was implemented in close collaboration with the Engaging Youth (EY) Project of UNWRA.

Through an awareness campaign, self-employment as an alternative to wage-earning employment for young refugees was presented, information about the risks and benefits of entrepreneurship was disseminated and the interest in those who have the characteristics and willingness to become entrepreneurs was awakened.

The campaign was followed by an interactive selection process where all interested young people were trained on entrepreneurship and guided through self-assessment on whether they are ready for being entrepreneurs. To our great satisfaction, the selection of youth enrolled in CEFE training improved and the groups of young trainees showed more and more competence in establishing their business plans. Some 5 small businesses started so far but quite a few more have been prepared for opening. Access to micro-loans remained problematic.