Wasta

Across the Middle East, many students believe that without a "wasta" there is no hope of employment. Our solution, Wasta, combines job postings with MOOCs, to prepare students for entry level jobs. Employers curate the online curriculum while students learn the most relevant skills for the job and demonstrate commitment.

Let me introduce you to Malak, a second year student at university. Her parents are farmers and she is the youngest of 4 daughters. Her older sisters are all unemployed, despite having graduate degrees. She has high marks in university, but little hope that she will secure a job after graduation. 

Malak has reached out to older students for advice on how to prepare herself for the job market, but with a 65% unemployment rate amongst young women in Palestine, no one has been able to give her a clear answer of how to prepare herself for the job market. 

To address this challenge, we are going to create a platform called "wasta" that combines job postings with MOOCs, to advise students on how to prepare for entry level jobs. 

By working with employers to curate the online curriculum, students will be able to learn the most relevant skills, while also demonstrating their commitment to potential employers. Employers can demonstrate their commitment to solving youth unemployment, access a talented pool of applicants, and challenge the concept of the "wasta" by participating on this platform.   

Similar to a headhunting agency, our platform will receive a fee only when a student successfully receives a job!  

Wasta solves the challenge of skills development through the incorporation of MOOCs with online job postings.

Across the Middle East, there are alarming numbers of youth unemployment, and yet, employers complain about an unqualified workforce. 

This solution puts learning directly in the hands of employers. It introduces MOOCs to students as an invaluable learning tool of the future, while demonstrating how online courses can prepare them for a job.

No one wants to be unemployed. Wasta introduces students to the power of MOOCs and helps them find their first job!  

The impact is a better skilled labor market (smoother transition for education to labor market) for employers, as well as more equal access of jobs to students (challenges nepotism and "wastas")  

College students will benefit from the solution, particularly those without connections in a given field.

The solution will be deployed through career fairs and universities. 

Track student enrollment and completion on platform (through administration of certificates) - 10,000 students complete online path for a given job

Track employer tracks on platform - 100 employers curate MOOC training for entry level positions

This solution is addressing one of the the largest challenges of MOOC learning: commitment. The opportunities for online learning will only continue to grow, and we need a way to bring this opportunity to disadvantaged youth. 

Using big data, we will continue to innovate on how to increase the effectiveness of the student's online learning experience and their success on the job! 

This solution was developed at a solve-a-thon. The solution is human-centered as it asks what will it take for more youth across the Arab world to realize the power of the internet for learning and skills development. The name "wasta" demonstrates how this solution designs for the emotions of the unemployed. 

Users will only pay once they have been successfully placed in an entry level job!

Startup seed funding

Financial resources for technical development

We are keen to connect with other members of the Solve community, and particularly the Queen Rania Foundation, who are working to tackle this challenge. 

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