Strategic Empowerment Programme

The MENA Impact Women Strategic Empowerment Programme is designed as the first step of a long-term ecosystem that supports women beyond training and certification. Its vision is to help women transform their skills, knowledge and experience into professional growth, income opportunities and meaningful contribution to their communities.

The programme responds to a context in which women across the MENA region face rapid changes driven by artificial intelligence, shifting labour markets, conflicts and global crises. Many already have valuable skills and experience, but need support to recognise their value, position themselves professionally and take the first practical step from potential to action.

The programme is based on the assumption that many women already possess valuable skills, knowledge and experience, but need structured support to recognise these resources, strengthen their agency and transform them into concrete achievements. This approach is aligned with the empowerment framework developed by the Indian-born social economist Naila Kabeer (Kabeer, 1999). It also follows a Theory of Change approach, where activities are connected to outputs, outcomes and long-term impact through clear assumptions and measurable steps (Rogers, 2014).

The expected change occurs through a progressive pathway: participants identify their strengths and professional value, analyse their context, define a strategic direction, design a project or service, communicate their value and build an implementation plan. The programme does not rely on passive knowledge transfer, but combines critical reflection, practical application, mentoring and peer exchange, in line with the Brazilian educator and philosopher Paulo Freire’s concept of praxis, where transformation emerges from the connection between reflection and action (Freire, 1970/2000).

Through this pathway, the expected short-term outcomes are increased self-awareness, clearer professional positioning and stronger confidence; the medium-term outcomes are better project design, clearer income strategies and greater access to opportunities; and the long-term impact is women’s economic empowerment, professional visibility, peer collaboration and community-level impact across the MENA region and Africa. The Strategic Professional Development Plan functions as the main evidence of change, because it translates the learning process into a concrete roadmap for implementation and provides a basis for evaluating progress after certification, in line with outcome-oriented evaluation principles promoted by the OECD-DAC Network on Development Evaluation (OECD, 2019).

The programme combines interactive learning, individual guidance and practical application through a structured 10-week pathway designed to support participants from self-assessment to project development.

The programme is delivered through one collective learning session per week. Activities are primarily delivered online; however, where participant groups are sufficiently large in specific countries, selected sessions may be delivered in person by travelling to the participating countries. Regardless of the delivery format, the total number of enrolled participants may not exceed 30.

The learning journey includes:

• Six strategic learning modules (4 hours each), introducing the core concepts, frameworks and tools.
• Two individual mentoring sessions (2 hours each), providing personalised guidance to refine participants’ professional goals and final projects.
• Two practical group workshops (6 hours each), where participants apply the concepts learned through collaborative exercises and peer discussion.
• Two final project presentation and graduation sessions (5 hours each), during which each participant presents her Strategic Professional Development Plan and receives feedback before certification.

This integrated structure ensures that participants not only acquire new knowledge but progressively transform it into practical decisions, concrete actions and an implementable professional development strategy.

The programme is structured around a set of interrelated learning areas that support participants in developing a clearer professional direction and a stronger capacity to transform existing skills into value.

The first learning area focuses on identifying each participant’s core potential through the intersection of personal interests, innate and acquired skills, professional experience, societal needs and distinctive value proposition.

Building on this foundation, the programme addresses strategic action planning, skills assessment and professional positioning, service design and value creation, value communication and personal pitch, business and income mindset, execution and decision-making, practical time management, opportunity expansion and market access, professional branding, income diversification, digital adaptability, AI awareness, and mental clarity and thought management.

Our pedagogy is collaboratively developed by women professionals with Arab and Mediterranean backgrounds, bringing together over 30 years of experience in international cooperation projects, particularly European Union-funded programmes involving MENA countries, with specific expertise in strategic communication, capacity-building, women’s empowerment for development and behaviour change.

This background allows the programme to connect learning with real professional, institutional and social contexts, while remaining deeply aware of the cultural specificities and linguistic diversity of the MENA region, including its different national contexts and local dialects. The course is therefore designed as a practical and collaborative space where participants engage with their own realities, exchange experiences with peers, receive guided support and progressively transform their skills and ideas into a Strategic Professional Development Plan.

As a core requirement for certification, each participant develops and presents a Strategic Professional Development Plan. This final project enables participants to apply the programme’s learning themes to their own professional reality.

The plan includes self-assessment, identification of core strengths and competitive value, project or service definition, market and stakeholder analysis, SWOT analysis, Business Model Canvas, professional positioning, communication strategy, income development strategy and a three-year implementation roadmap.

Completion and presentation of the Strategic Professional Development Plan are mandatory requirements for obtaining the MENA Impact Women Level 1 Certificate.

Certification marks the formal completion of Level 1, but also opens access to the wider MENA Impact Women ecosystem.

Graduates become eligible to join the HerSkills Bank, the platform’s professional skills exchange space, where certified members can increase their visibility, share expertise, request support and identify collaboration opportunities with other graduates.

This pathway ensures that Level 1 does not end as a standalone training experience, but becomes the foundation for continued professional growth, peer support and future project development within the platform.

The first pilot edition of the MENA Impact Women Strategic Empowerment Programme – Level 1: Transforming Personal Skills into Strategic Direction, Growth, and Impact was implemented between May 2026 and 11 July 2026, bringing together ten women from Egypt, Tunisia and Algeria.

The pilot cohort included women of different ages, educational backgrounds, professional experiences and areas of expertise. This diversity allowed the programme methodology to be tested across varied personal and professional contexts.

The pilot concluded with the presentation of participants’ own Strategic Professional Development Plans, which reflected their new professional positioning and translated their project ideas into three-year strategic development plans ready for implementation, followed by the certification of the first graduates of the programme.

Click here to explore the Pilot Programme, meet the first cohort of graduates, and discover their Strategic Professional Development Plans, project ideas and key achievements.