By Caroline Lai, Program Assistant with Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A.

Al-Azhar Park in central Cairo.

During my first trip to Egypt to visit a friend studying abroad in 2006, we visited Cairo’s Al-Azhar Park. In the taxi ride to the park, my friend described it as “the only beautiful spot in its immediate surrounding area.” At that time, I had not heard of the Aga Khan Development Networkand its work around the world. Now, nearly 7 years later, I find myself back at the park, taking in its beauty. However, this time, not as a tourist, but with the Aga Khan Foundation U.S.A. to visit ourHead Start! for Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment program, funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development 

While the Head Start! program does not work in the park itself, much of our work is focused in Darb al-Ahmar, the neighborhood immediately surrounding the park. To address the high youth unemployment and underemployment in Egypt, Head Start! provides microfinance loans to youth entrepreneurs to start or build-up their businesses, provides training, and gives sub-grants to local organizations to improve their infrastructure and stimulate short-term employment opportunities to local youths.

I had the opportunity to meet a few of Head Start!’s beneficiaries in Darb al-Ahmar and in Shoubra, a neighborhood a few miles away. Every loan client I visited greeted me enthusiastically and it was clear that they were proud of their business. They showed me their different products and explained how their Head Start! loan and training helped them. The businesses I visited were all different, ranging from cell phone shops to a carpentry workshop, but they shared the same the pride and enthusiasm. For some of the loan clients, it had always been a dream of theirs to start their own business. Many were previously ineligible to take out a loan until this program. For others, they were able to use their Head Start! loan to enhance their current business, either by stocking their stores or purchasing the types of items they desired.

One loan client in particular sticks out in my memory. To me, she exemplified Head Start!’s ideal beneficiary. Reham Ahmed Mohamed, a single 29-year-old woman from Shoubra, had always dreamed of starting her own business. However, due to societal norms that prevent young, unmarried women from managing their own businesses, Reham was not able to gain access to credit before. Through Head Start!, Reham received a 15,000 Egyptian pound (approximately $2,500) loan to open a poultry shop on the ground floor of her family’s apartment building. With her loan and some of her own resources, Reham installed lighting and purchased a poultry-processing machine, a refrigerator, and chickens. Additionally, Reham was able to hire two employees to help with the handling of the chickens and make deliveries around the neighborhood. After a few short months, Reham is running her own successful business, selling around 80 chickens per day.

While the size of the Head Start! small business loans are quite small (on average $1,500), they have already made a large impact in Darb al-Ahmar and a few other low-income neighborhoods in Cairo. The confidence that owning a business brings was readily apparent as Reham introduced us to her shop. The pride on her father’s face as he watched his daughter was overwhelming.