When SABIC, a global leader in diversified chemicals based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (KSA), went in search of a youth-serving nonprofit partner for its global initiative for education and innovation, JA Worldwide quickly emerged as the logical choice.
Known in the Middle East and North Africa as INJAZ, JA’s local affiliate is one of the only NGOs in full partnership with the KSA Ministry of Education, giving INJAZ important access to Saudi schools and classrooms, where corporate volunteers deliver entrepreneurship and work-readiness programs.
Although JA Worldwide serves over 10 million students each year, that number represents only a fraction of young adults who are unemployed or underemployed in MENA and throughout the world. As a result, the two global organizations have signed an agreement to serve more than 100,000 additional students through jointly developed social-responsibility educational opportunities. In KSA, five programs that focus on developing career skills while solving social challenges will reach 90,000 students across 1,500 educational institutions. A global initiative, Lights of our Future,TM is also being developed and will reach over 11,000 students in 20 additional countries where JA and SABIC both operate.