Qatar-based company Silatech announced earlier this week the launch of its crowdfunding platform called Narwi.com. The “micro-giving” platform is a new approach to financing young Arab entrepreneurs and their projects.
Noted on its website, the platform is described as the following:
“Youth unemployment in the Middle East and North Africa is the highest in the world and is a leading cause of instability in the region. What if we could tell a different story about this important region and its people – a story of hope, opportunity, and change?”
“Narwi is here to do just that. Narwi means ‘to tell a story.’ We want to tell the world the untold story of social innovation being shaped by young men and women hoping to create a better life for themselves and their communities. Narwi is a crowdfunding platform that seeks to create business opportunities for young Arabs. By providing a revolving donation to Narwi, you empower micro-entrepreneurs to launch businesses, create jobs, and make positive changes in this important region.”
According to Arabian Business, Silatech teamed up with Doha-based organization, Qatar Charity, to create Narwi. It aims to leverage “the power of crowdfunding to help provide financing to young Arabs wishing to start their own very small enterprises.”
CEO of Silatech, Dr. Tarik M. Yousef stated, “[Narwi] will allow visitors to the site to directly and securely contribute toward financing the young Arab entrepreneur of their choice in countries including Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Iraq, Yemen and Somalia.”
“Funds on Narwi are given as revolving donations, so that when the entrepreneurs repays the original loans, the donation moves on to support others as well.
The news outlet also reported that the agreement Dr. Tarik M. Yousef signed with CEO of Qatar Charity, Yousef bin Ahmad Al-Kuwari, follows the 2013 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between both organizations to cooperate in technology, fundraising, and technical assistance.
Al Kuwari noted, “Through this key partnership between Silatech and Qatar Charity, we’re taking advantage of technology, innovative program design features and crowdfunding that through Narwi shall make it easier to support young Arab entrepreneurs through Shariah-compliant lending.”
Per the agreement, Qatar Charity will donate $500,000 of direct funds for Narwi and provide assistance in marketing the platform. On their end, Silatech will provide technical assistance to Qatar Charity, which will enable it to showcase selected youth development projects for crowdfunding opportunities.
