EU Funded Project Facilitates the Growth of Social Entrepreneurs in the Mediterranean Region More Holistically

MedUP is a project co-funded by the European Union aiming to promote an enabling environment in the Southern Mediterranean region (Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and OPT), for the development of the social entrepreneurship sector, as a driver for inclusive growth and job creation.

Project Objectives

The project’s overall objective is to promote an enabling environment in the Southern Mediterranean partner countries for the development of the social entrepreneurship sector as a driver for inclusive growth and job creation.

Its specific objective is to increase economic inclusiveness and employment in Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestine where adequate policies on social entrepreneurship are in place, public-private dialogue and exchanges of practices are promoted and high quality services for social enterprises are provided.

1. Advocacy to improve regulatory environments in favor of social entrepreneurship (macro level). This involves promoting country and cross-country policy and advocacy initiatives and public-private dialogue to create an enabling regulatory and policy environment. The project will identify factors that enable or disable women social entrepreneurship across countries and how policy reforms can be a response to the structural impediments to women’s access to decent work
2. Reinforcement and capacity building of 60 organizations that directly support social enterprises through capacity-building and networking activities (meso level)
3. Direct technical and financial support to 100 social enterprises to grow and scale their models (micro level). The project will disburse 1 Million EUR to help realize business model growth-related projects of social enterprises across the six target countries in the MENA region. The 100 enterprises are both start-ups, scale-ups and grown businesses.

Theory of Change 

Supporting women's social entrepreneurship at the MENA region at the macro, meso and micro levels will enhance women’s agency and resilience by bringing in several benefits for women including social integration and decision making; fairer income, enhanced gender equality, better prospects for personal development, overcoming traditional barriers to women's employment such as providing more secure working places

Project Activities

1. Carry-out national and regional analyses of the main social entrepreneurship perceptions, actors and priorities including barriers to, and economic impact of, women and youth entering the regional labor force
2. Conduct policy and advocacy initiatives on the importance of social entrepreneurship as a mechanism for inclusive growth and job creation at national and cross-country level.
3. Enhance public-private debate and stimulate initiatives and policies supporting social entrepreneurship for women and youth
4. Conduct national needs assessment and provide capacity building for targeted social entrepreneurship support organizations
5. Provide technical support to develop innovative products and services targeting social enterprises
6. Promote networking activities between social entrepreneurship support organizations and local financial institutions
7. Organize exchange and networking events between public and private key stakeholders and their counterparts in the EU and in the Southern neighborhood
8. Set up sub granting schemes for financial support to selected social enterprises
9. Provide technical assistance services for the development of viable social enterprises
10. Collect good practices of promising social enterprises and disseminating them at national, regional and European level
11. Define a strategy for the replication of successful social enterprises.