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With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

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IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Development Strategies and Governance

Nada Shokry

Research Associate

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Bio

Nada is a Research Associate. Before Joining IFPRI, she worked as an Economist at Towson University’s Regional Economic Studies Institute (RESI) in Maryland, USA. She has also worked as a Consultant for both IFPRI and the Egyptian Center for Economic Studies (ECES) as well as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Economics Department at the American University in Cairo and at the Arab Academy for Science and Technology (AAST) Business Department in Alexandria. She holds both her MA and BA degrees in Economics from the American University in Cairo (AUC) and has completed a graduate certificate program in healthcare data analytics from University of Connecticut in the USA. Her research interests are Applied Development Economics, Public Policy, Macroeconomics, Health Economics and International Economics.

Development Strategies and Governance

Publications

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Brief

Key findings from midline evaluation of Egypt’s forsa graduation program

2023Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma
Details

Key findings from midline evaluation of Egypt’s forsa graduation program

Forsa is a pilot economic inclusion program implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS) in Egypt. The goal of the program is to graduate beneficiaries of Takaful to economic self-reliance by enabling them to engage in wage employment or small-scale productive enterprises. The Forsa program began in 2023 after significant delays. Obstacles to implementation included the Covid-19 pandemic, Egypt’s economic crisis following the Ukraine-Russia war, and administrative challenges with procurement approvals.

Year published

2023

Authors

Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma

Citation

Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Shokry, Nada; and Yassa, Basma. 2023. Key findings from midline evaluation of Egypt’s forsa graduation program. MENA Policy Note 24. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Northern Africa; Africa; Social Protection; Targeting; Livestock; Ownership; Policies

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137063 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

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Brief

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of forsa employers

2023Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra
Details

Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of forsa employers

Increasing formal employment for youth and women is a key goal of the Forsa pilot graduation intervention and Egyptian government policy in general. As detailed in Forsa evaluation reports, matching Takaful beneficiaries with jobs in the private sector is a major challenge from the perspective of households. In this policy note, we examine the challenges from the perspective of potential employers. We review literature of the market failures that may contribute to difficulties with job matching in rural Egypt and present results from a small telephone survey of Forsa employers.

Year published

2023

Authors

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; Kurdi, Sikandra

Citation

Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma; and Kurdi, Sikandra. 2023. Challenges for private sector job matching in rural Egypt: Results from a survey of forsa employers. MENA Policy Note 24. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Northern Africa; Africa; Rural Areas; Private Sector; Surveys; Employment; Labour; Gender; Women

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137062 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Brief

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Working Paper

Impact evaluation report of Egypt’s Forsa Graduation Program

2023Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma
Details

Impact evaluation report of Egypt’s Forsa Graduation Program

1. Forsa, which means “Opportunity” in Arabic, is a new economic inclusion program of the government of the Arab Republic of Egypt. Implemented by the Ministry of Social Solidarity (MoSS), one major goal of the program is to graduate beneficiaries of Takaful to economic self reliance by enabling them to engage in wage employment or small-scale productive enterprises. 2. The Forsa program began in 2023, after significant delays. Obstacles to implementation in cluded the Covid-19 pandemic, nationwide inflation subsequent to the Ukraine-Russia war result ing in funding challenges for asset purchases, and administrative challenges with procurement approvals by the Ministry of Finance. Forsa implementation was conducted under MoSS super vision by local non-governmental organizations (NGOs). While a few NGOs received their first payments in the first quarter of 2022, most NGOs received their first payments in October 2022, delaying program implementation to February 2023. According to the MoSS, in the second half of 2023, households receiving assets through the program increased from around 3,000 (9%) to 10,302 (29%) out of a target of 35,000 households through 49 contracted NGOs and two private hiring firms, and the number of participants receiving a job has increased from 3,324 (23%) in August to 5,392 (38%) by end of November of 2023 out of a target of 14,314 households through 22 NGOs and two private firms.

Year published

2023

Authors

Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Shokry, Nada; Yassa, Basma

Citation

Allen IV, James; Gilligan, Daniel O.; Kurdi, Sikandra; Shokry, Nada; and Yassa, Basma. 2023. Impact evaluation report of Egypt’s Forsa Graduation Program. MENA RP Working Paper 43. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137034

Country/Region

Egypt

Keywords

Middle East; Northern Africa; Africa; Economic Aspects; Employment; Households; Enterprises; Inflation; Remuneration

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Links

https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.137034 Source record

Project

National Policies and Strategies

Record type

Working Paper