Arab Youth Center supports 11 Arab innovators with General Motors’ grant of USD 150,000, enabling work across AI, mobility, education and healthcare

The new MoU establishes a general framework for exploring cooperation in youth development, innovation, and career pathways.

Beneficiaries from seven Arab countries are developing research and projects across technology, mobility, education and healthcare.

Partnership dating back to 2021 connects young people with expertise, training and professional networks.

The Arab Youth Center (AYC) and General Motors have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand cooperation in youth development and innovation and strengthen the impact of the Young Arab Pioneers initiative and its members’ projects. 

Under the partnership, General Motors is providing USD 150,000 in financial support to 11 members of the initiative.

Building on cooperation between the two organisations dating back to 2021, the agreement extends their work to support Arab youth. The 11 pioneers, representing the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Algeria and Syria, are developing projects, research and technologies across artificial intelligence, quantum computing, electric mobility, digital-twin technology, coding education, entrepreneurship, creative industries and medical technology.

The Young Arab Pioneers initiative highlights accomplished young Arabs across different fields, connecting them with expertise, professional networks, institutions and resources to help develop and expand their work. General Motors’ support provides the 11 pioneers with additional resources to advance their projects, technologies, research and initiatives.

Fatima Al Hallami: Partnerships shorten the distance between talent and opportunity
Eng Fatima Al Hallami, Executive Director of AYC, said: “The true value of partnerships lies in their ability to shorten the distance between talent and opportunity. Across the Arab world, young people are building ideas, projects and technologies with the potential to grow and contribute to the future of our economies and societies. Taking their work further requires access to expertise, resources and professional networks that open new avenues for growth and expansion.”

She added: “At AYC, we believe in building effective partnerships with the private sector, drawing on its practical experience, specialised knowledge and ability to create tangible opportunities for young people. These partnerships complement the work of institutions dedicated to developing young people’s capabilities and supporting their ambitions. When built around shared priorities and a long-term vision, they can enable young people to advance their projects and ideas, broaden their contribution to development and help shape the region’s future.”

11 Arab Pioneers: Projects spanning technology, education and healthcare
The recipients include Akram Amir, founder of AR Engineering, who is developing digital twin and augmented reality technologies for immersive defence training. Kareem Ayyad’s Arabic generative-AI platform, ‘ai.Uktob’, serves more than 400,000 users, while Yousra Farhani is conducting quantum-computing research in Algeria. Emirati innovator Rashid Ahmad Al Salmi is developing technologies in electric mobility.

In education, entrepreneurship and professional development, Mohammed Saud Al-Otaibi, founder of Wathba, helps young Saudi professionals build their careers through peer mentoring. Through Blackbox and Bridges for Entrepreneurship, Ahmed Bayram works with Syrian youth and refugees to develop their ideas and turn them into startups. Mohamed Gawish, founder of iSchool, equips children across the Middle East and North Africa with skills in coding, AI, game development and data science.

Egyptian entrepreneur Hadeer Shalaby has trained about 350,000 women and young people and contributed to creating nearly 10,000 jobs in underserved communities. Sharifah Alhinai supports creative talent across the Gulf through Sekka and the Khaleeji Art Museum, providing platforms for artists to showcase their work.

In medical technology, biomedical engineers Nisreen Almadi and Hekma Jabouli are developing prosthetics and robotic exoskeletons designed to help people with mobility impairments move more independently.

Over the past five years, collaboration between AYC and General Motors has included webinars and interactive sessions on technology and manufacturing, alongside mentorship, training and opportunities to engage with regional and international experts. These activities have helped participants strengthen their professional, entrepreneurial and leadership skills and deepen their knowledge of artificial intelligence, digitalisation, mobility and advanced manufacturing.

Jorge Plata: The region has talent capable of creating real impact in its communities
Jorge Plata, President and Managing Director at General Motors Africa and Middle East, said: “Our partnership with the Arab Youth Center is an extension of our commitment to supporting a new generation of Arab innovators, in line with GM’s vision and the region’s goals and national agendas. The achievements of these 11 pioneers demonstrate the wealth of talent across the region and what it can achieve when given access to resources, specialised expertise and opportunities that help young people develop their ideas and projects and take them to more advanced stages.”

He added, “Our USD 150,000 contribution to support these pioneers is driven by our belief in investing in solutions and projects with an impact across technology, mobility, education, entrepreneurship and healthcare. As General Motors marks 100 years in Africa and the Middle East, we have chosen to link this occasion with supporting young people who are creating real impact in their communities and contributing through their ideas and innovations to shaping the region’s future.”

Through its initiatives and public- and private-sector partnerships, AYC develops the capabilities of Arab youth and expands their participation in development by connecting them with expertise, resources and professional opportunities to advance and scale their projects and support sustainable growth.

About General Motors Africa & Middle East Operations

General Motors (NYSE:GM) is driving the future of transportation, leveraging advanced technology to build safer, smarter, and lower emission cars, trucks, and SUVs. GM’s Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, and GMC brands offer a broad portfolio of innovative gasoline-powered vehicles and the industry’s widest range of EVs, as we move to an all-electric future.

The GM Africa & Middle East operations have been in the region for close to 100 years, now headquartered in Dubai, UAE with a manufacturing plant in Egypt. In the region, GM represents Chevrolet, GMC and Cadillac. With a network of 17 distributors serving 29 countries, the organization has over 203 customer-facing rooftops to cater to countries in Africa, Levant, the GCC and other Middle Eastern countries. For more information, please visit www.gmarabia.com.