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🛒 تسوق الآنInnovation Sahara: UNDP Program Empowers 110 Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya
Innovation Sahara: UNDP Program Empowers 110 Entrepreneurs in Southern Libya
More than 110 entrepreneurs across Libya's southern region received business training and startup grants through Innovation Sahara, a UNDP-backed initiative targeting economic inclusion in underserved communities.
Southern Libya has long faced geographic isolation, limited access to investment and persistent political instability. These factors have created significant barriers to employment, particularly for young people and women. In response, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched Innovation Sahara, an entrepreneurship program designed to help residents of communities such as Sebha, Ubari, Bint Bayya, Gurda Al-Shati and Al-Sharquia turn business ideas into sustainable income-generating projects.
According to UNDP data, the initiative attracted more than 110 participants, including 53 women-led ventures. Of these, 60 startups received grants to help launch their businesses — 23 of them led by women. The program combines financial support with practical training in budgeting, marketing and business planning.
Why Southern Libya Needs Homegrown Entrepreneurship
Libya's economy has historically depended on oil revenues and public-sector employment. While oil wealth has shaped the national economy, it has not created stable opportunities for young people outside major urban centers. In southern Libya, formal jobs are scarce, and distance from major markets makes it harder for local businesses to access investors and customers.
Entrepreneurship offers an alternative path. Rather than relying on government employment or outside investment, small businesses allow communities to address their own needs. A successful startup supports one household directly, and over time can create products and open employment opportunities for others. Innovation Sahara works to unlock this potential through structured support.
Success Stories: From Ideas to Thriving Businesses
The program's impact is best illustrated through participants who turned local challenges into viable enterprises.
Hamed Mohamed from Gurda Al-Shati used Innovation Sahara support to develop Akakus Restaurant. His community had few food-delivery options, leaving residents underserved. With training and grant funding, he expanded the restaurant and hired 14 employees, including chefs, cleaners and delivery riders. His business now meets an everyday community need while providing stable employment.
Rahma El Farjani, also from Gurda Al-Shati, is an architect who previously worked from home with limited visibility. Before joining Innovation Sahara, reaching clients and earning a stable income was a constant challenge. Through the program, she established Dalilak for Architectural Services — described by UNDP as the first architectural firm in the region. Her firm now expands professional services in southern Libya and challenges the perception that innovation belongs only in major cities.
Women's Economic Participation at the Core
Innovation Sahara places particular emphasis on women-led ventures. Women in southern Libya face additional barriers to economic participation: limited access to finance, fewer professional networks and social expectations that restrict public economic activity. By including 53 women-led ventures in training and providing grants to 23 women-led startups, the program actively supports women's economic empowerment.
Programs that proactively include women help challenge long-standing assumptions about who can participate in entrepreneurship and economic development.
Combining Grants with Skills Training
One key lesson from Innovation Sahara is that financial support alone is rarely sufficient. Grants help startups launch, but entrepreneurs also need to understand cost management, customer acquisition and market adaptation. The program's training in budgeting, marketing and business planning equips participants with skills that continue to benefit them after the initial funding period.
However, long-term success depends on sustained follow-up. Many early-stage businesses struggle after initial funding runs out. Entrepreneurs in southern Libya still need mentoring, access to larger markets, legal support and continued financing. Infrastructure challenges, political instability and weak private-sector institutions remain significant constraints.
A Model for Economic Recovery
Innovation Sahara demonstrates how targeted entrepreneurship programs can help marginalized regions participate in economic recovery. By providing training, grants and visibility to entrepreneurs in southern Libya, the initiative supports people often excluded from national economic opportunities. Its lasting impact will depend on continued investment, long-term mentorship and the ability of new businesses to create sustainable employment.
Still, the program offers a hopeful example of how locally driven innovation can improve livelihoods in communities facing poverty and limited opportunity. For Libya's southern region, that hope is a foundation to build on.
— Libya Press / Innovation Desk
