The Starbucks Foundation and Alshaya Group just announced a massive $6 million investment to empower 250,000 young people across the Middle East, North Africa, and Türkiye!

Dubbed ‘EmpowerME’, this game-changing initiative is all about upskilling youth, boosting career readiness, and providing mentorship opportunities

The three-year partnership is set to make a huge impact by teaming up with INJAZ Al-Arab and the Habitat Association, organizations that are already making waves in youth development.

INJAZ Al-Arab is on a mission to equip young people with essential work-readiness training and financial literacy skills across Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, and Lebanon, with more countries set to join soon. Their programs have already made a huge impact, reaching over 10,000 youth with tailored training designed to prepare them for the future.

Meanwhile, Habitat Association is stepping in to enhance digital literacy and entrepreneurship skills for youth in Türkiye, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and Jordan

Taking things up a notch, they recently hosted a Youth Summit in Türkiye, bringing together 150 young leaders to inspire change and innovation.

With youth unemployment still a major challenge in MENA, this initiative is a huge step toward bridging the skills gap.

The goal? To help young people land jobs, manage finances, and build successful careers.

Mohammed Alshaya, Executive Chairman of Alshaya Group, put it best, emphasizing that youth are the leaders of tomorrow, and this program is dedicated to helping them reach their full potential. Echoing this commitment, Brian Niccol, CEO of Starbucks Coffee Company, expressed confidence that EmpowerME will positively impact thousands of young people, setting them on the path to a brighter future.

And this isn’t their first rodeo!

With 19,000 partners (employees) and 2,000 Starbucks stores in the region, Alshaya is all about creating real opportunities for young talent…and EmpowerME is proof of that commitment

So if you’re a young go-getter in MENA or Türkiye, big things are coming your way!