For over 20 years, INJAZ Al-Arab has empowered young people across the Middle East and North Africa with the skills, mindset, and opportunities to help them succeed in work and entrepreneurship. With unemployment affecting one in four young people in the region, understanding what drives impact is critical. To do so, INJAZ partnered with Oliver Wyman to conduct its first regional alumni survey.
Who INJAZ is
The regional operating center of JA Worldwide, since 2004. 10M+ cumulative student learning experiences · 1.6M a year · 140K+ volunteers · 400 partners.
Who answered
2,476 completed responses · 63% women · all 13 nations · 68% took part within the last year. Every insight is drawn directly from alumni voices.
Every dot on the next screens is one real respondent. The same 2,476 rearrange into every number in this report. One of them (Amal, an alumna from Kuwait) will tell you her story in her own words.
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INJAZ Al-Arab · 2026 Alumni Impact Survey
2,476 alumni. One story.
Across 13 nations, they told us what changed.
Swipe up
Every number in this report is made of people.
This is one of them.
1
alumni answered · all 13 nations
Every number in this report is the same 2,476 people, rearranged.
Every one of these dots is a person.
Tap any dot, anywhere in the story. Many alumni told their story in the report, including Amal.
Amal · Kuwait. Remember her.
She’ll be up here the whole way. Tap her anytime for her story.
Before we begin
These aren’t pixels.
Every dot is one real alum. Say hi.
Chapter01
Mindset & Aspiration
Before a young person can build a career, they have to believe in their own ability.
Chapter 01 · Mindset & aspiration
credit INJAZ with shaping their career direction and development.
Chapter 01 · Mindset & aspiration
+34
Net Promoter Score across all alumni, a favourable score on industry bands.
Among alumni who participated for more than three months, it climbs to +58.
They helped me build my confidence and understand my worth.
Alia
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter02
Skills Development
Belief becomes action when our alumni feel equipped with concrete skills to bring to a job or venture.
Chapter 02 · Skills development
Five skills, measurably improved.
Share of alumni reporting improved capability after INJAZ.
Chapter 02 · Skills development
Skills come from doing.
Alumni recall the hands-on moments that shaped them: most often a team project, presenting to an audience, or writing a business plan.
1 33%2 14%3 14%4 12%5+ 27%
formative moments recalled
78%
of working alumni use these skills in their current job or business.
72% connect their current work to their INJAZ experience.
INJAZ gave me the professional mindset and practical financial skills I needed to transition from a student to a professional.
Sofiane
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter03
Employment & Entrepreneurship
In a region where one in four young people is out of work, what happens to alumni?
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Fewer are locked out of work and school.
Youth not in employment, education or training: INJAZ alumni against the regional average.
17% INJAZ alumni32% Arab states average
outline dots · regional benchmark
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Of all 2,476: where they are today.
46% studying22% employed16% looking7% self-employed6% not working3% volunteering
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Among alumni who have finished studying and entered the labour market, 7 in 10 are working or running a business.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Of the 1,404 who finished studying, most considered a business, and 229 are actively planning one now.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
70%
of those who never started a business name lack of funding as the main reason.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
INJAZ as the spark.
34% of adult alumni say they would likely not have founded a business without INJAZ.
84% of current students say INJAZ increased their interest in entrepreneurship.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Some don't take jobs. They make them.
336 of the 1,404 who finished studying run their own business.
212 employ at least one other person.
70% credit INJAZ for the growth or success of their business.
6 in 10 report stable or growing revenue.
53% of these founders are women.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
~2,000
jobs created by these 212 founders.
Each gold dot is a person hired by one of these founders.
Job count is an estimate from reported employee ranges.
INJAZ completely shifted my career trajectory. It gave me the confidence to move past the ideation phase and realize that I could achieve at a young age. I launched my first venture just months after completing the program, setting me on a path of serial entrepreneurship.
Rakan · Bahrain
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter04
Alumni engagement and contribution
What they gained, they hand back.
Chapter 04 · Alumni engagement and contribution
39%
stay connected with INJAZ in at least one way.
33% follow on social30% in touch with peers
Chapter 04 · Alumni engagement and contribution
24%
give back: mentoring, volunteering, showing up.
14% mentored13% volunteered11% attended events
Three years after completing the program, I serve as the President of the INJAZ Palestine Alumni Association.
Samer · Palestine
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter05
The INJAZ multiplier
The longer alumni stayed, the further they went.
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The longer they stayed, the more were working.
Most of the gain arrives in the first six months.
Share now working, by months on a program. Dashed line: 52% average. Base n=1,404.
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The deeper they went, the more were working.
Six or more formative moments: 78% working, nearly double the 42%.
Share now working, by formative moments. Dashed line: 52% average. Base n=1,404.
And 24% go back to lift the next generation of students.
Association, not causation: more engaged young people may also choose longer programs.
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
Those who give back recommend INJAZ the loudest.
Net Promoter Score climbs from +15 to +64 as alumni get more involved.
Net Promoter Score by engagement level; each alum in one group.
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The deeper they went, the closer they stayed.
Share who stay engaged, by number of formative moments experienced.
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The Company Program: inside a real company.
gold = Company Program
Base n=1,404: Company Program 560, others 843. Employ others: of the 336 who run a business.
INJAZ mainly showed me just how easy it is to truly take the first step. That all these barriers I had were 80% just in my head.
Khawla
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
The talent is real.The method works.The mission continues.
The 336 founders had finished studying. 212 of them employ at least one other person, and their businesses carry around 2,000 jobs.
This survey reached 2,476 alumni.
INJAZ has delivered more than 10 million student learning experiences across two decades.
The dots were people all along.
With gratitude
To the stakeholders and partners who stood behind this work, and behind these 2,476 young people: thank you.
Every number in this report is made of people. This is one of them.
1alumni, one field
INJAZ Al-Arab · Alumni Impact Study
2,476 alumni. One story.
Across 13 nations, they told us what changed.
INJAZ Al-Arab Alumni impact survey 2026
2,476 alumni. Thirteen nations. One question: did it change their lives?
Every dot on this screen is one of the 2,476 people who answered the 2026 INJAZ Al-Arab alumni survey. Click any dot to read a real alum's words. Keep scrolling and watch the same 2,476 rearrange into every number in the report.
Amal · Kuwait. Remember her.She’ll be up here the whole way. Click her anytime for her story.
Before we begin
Every dot is a person.
Each one is a real alum. Click any dot, anytime. Many alumni told their story in the report, including Amal.
Scroll
Who answeredThirteen nations. One generation.Where the 2,476 who answered grew up, from Lebanon (587) to Kuwait (43).
Country distribution, all 2,476 completed responses.
Five chapters. One climb.
Mindset, skills, employment, engagement, multiplier: each alum’s rise lifts the next.
Who answered
0%
of the 2,476 are women.
34% men · 3% preferred not to say.
Who answered
Every level of education.
From not-yet-secondary school (13.8%) to doctorates (0.8%): the full range.
Who answered
2 in 3
took part in an INJAZ program within the last year.
The circle is the last twelve months.
Recency excludes 255 alumni who don't remember when they last took part.
Chapter01
Mindset & Aspiration
Before a young person can build a career, they have to believe in their own ability.
Whenever you see gold, that’s where INJAZ left its mark.
Chapter 01 · Mindset & aspiration
80%
credit INJAZ with shaping their career direction and development.
Four in five alumni trace that self-belief back to INJAZ.
84%initiative
84%teamwork
83%confidence
Amal is one of the 80%.
the constellation: the 80% who connected the dots · unlinked = the 20%
Chapter 01 · Mindset & aspiration
+34
Net Promoter Score across all alumni, a favourable score on industry bands.
Among alumni who participated for more than three months, it climbs to +58: the first hint of Chapter 5.
Net Promoter Score, all respondents. Bands illustrative (Qualtrics / industry conventions): 0+ good · 20+ favourable · 50+ excellent · 80+ world-class.
−100
0
+100
+34
They helped me build my confidence and understand my worth.
Alia
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter02
Skills Development
Belief becomes action when our alumni feel equipped with concrete skills to bring to a job or venture.
Chapter 02 · Skills development
Five skills, measurably improved.
Share of alumni reporting improved capability after INJAZ.
Alumni recall the hands-on moments that shaped them: most often a team project, presenting to an audience, or writing a business plan.
moments recalled:1 33%2 14%3 14%4 12%5+ 27%
formative moments recalled
Chapter 02 · Skills development
0%
of working alumni use these skills in their current job or business.
72% connect their current work to their INJAZ experience.
37% use them regularly
41% use them occasionally
22% skills unused, still counted
INJAZ gave me the professional mindset and practical financial skills I needed to transition from a student to a professional.
Sofiane
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter03
Employment & Entrepreneurship
In a region where one in four young people is out of work, what happens to alumni?
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Fewer are locked out of work and school.
Youth not in employment, education or training: INJAZ alumni against the regional average.
INJAZ alumni17%not in employment, education or training
Arab states average32%outline dots · regional benchmark
Benchmark: youth NEET, ages 15–24, Arab states (International Labour Organization, Statistics in Arab States, 2026). Ghost dots represent the regional benchmark, not survey respondents: a benchmark, not a control group. Lebanon (42%) and Yemen (20%) carry most of the alumni NEET rate; without them it would be ~11%.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurshipAmong alumni who have finished studying and entered the labour market, 7 in 10 are working or running a business.
Base: alumni no longer studying and active in the labour market, N=1,115.
bright = working or running a business · the line sits at 7 in 10
7 in 10
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Some don't take jobs. They make them.
336 of the 1,404 who finished studying run their own business.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
212
of them employ at least one other person.
For every 3 INJAZ founders, 2 have created jobs for others.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
0%
of these founders credit INJAZ for the growth or success of their business.
Six in 10 of their businesses report stable or growing revenue.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
53% of alumni who run a business are women.
47% are men.
212 founders in the middle · the ~2,000 jobs they created around them
women · 53%
men · 47%
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
~2,000
jobs created by these 212 founders.
Each gold dot is a person hired by one of these founders.
Conservative estimate: surveyed alumni only, no extrapolation.
Estimate based on the 212 alumni whose business employs at least one person beyond the founder. Each business is counted at the midpoint of its reported employee band, with the open top band held at 50. Self-reported; covers surveyed alumni only, no extrapolation to the wider alumni base.
the worker = ~2,000 people hired, one dot each · the pearl desk = the 212 businesses
Of all 2,476 alumni: where they are today46% studying · 22% employed · 16% looking · 7% self-employed · 6% not working · 3% volunteering
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
They get in, and stand on their own feet.
7 in 10 report living comfortably or getting by.
71%working within six months of finishing
26%already had work45%found it within six months29%later · or not yet
Speed base: finished-studying alumni employed by others, n=648. Living standard excludes Yemen; excluding Lebanon, 8 in 10 are comfortable or getting by.
82% use INJAZ skills at work · 77% credit INJAZ for their career progress · 74% hold a job related to INJAZ (employed by others, n=648) · 83% work in their field of study (asked of n=430).
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
Of the 1,404 who finished studying, most considered a business, and 229 are actively planning one now.
Bases: finished studying n=1,404 → considered 80% → took a real step 49% → actively planning n=229 (39% seeking funding · 30% idea-only · 24% written plan · 7% operating). Q7c.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
0%
of those who never started a business name lack of funding as the main reason.
Base: considered but never started, n=806. Q25.
70%lack of funding
30%every other reason, combined
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
INJAZ as the spark.
34% of adult alumni say they would likely not have founded a business without INJAZ.
84% of current students say INJAZ increased their interest in entrepreneurship.
Bases: adults asked n=1,582 · students n=301 (Q10 routing).
of every three, the gold one would not exist without INJAZ
INJAZ completely shifted my career trajectory. It gave me the confidence to move past the ideation phase and realize that I could achieve at a young age. I launched my first venture just months after completing the program, setting me on a path of serial entrepreneurship.
Rakan · Bahrain
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter04
Alumni engagement and contribution
What they gained, they hand back.
Chapter 04 · Alumni engagement and contribution
They stay close.
39% stay connected with INJAZ in at least one way.
33% follow on social30% in touch with peers
Chapter 04 · Alumni engagement and contribution
And they lift the next one.
24% give back: mentoring, volunteering, showing up.
14% mentored13% volunteered11% attended events
Nearly three in ten engage in two or more ways.
One in four, out of the two in five who stay close.
in orbit = the 39% who stayed close · the rest drift beyond the frame
the givers step out of the orbit · one generation lifting the next
Three years after completing the program, I serve as the President of the INJAZ Palestine Alumni Association.
Samer · Palestine
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
Chapter05
The INJAZ multiplier
The longer alumni stayed, the further they went.
0%
0–3 months
0%+23
3–6 months
0%
6+ months
0%
0–1
0%
2–3
0%
4–5
0%
6+
share now working, by months on an INJAZ program
share now working, by formative moments experienced
0%working1
6+ months with INJAZ
0%working
3–6 months
0%working
0–3 months
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The longer they stayed, the more were working.
Most of the gain arrives in the first six months.
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The deeper they went, the more were working.
Six or more formative moments: 78% working, nearly double the 42% with one or none.
Average across working-age alumni 52%
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
It wasn't just work.
Career progress climbed the same stairs.
lit tread = credit INJAZ for career progress · the gold traveler climbs with the dose
0%
0–3 months
0%+4
3–6 months
0%+10
6+ months
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
They recommend it louder the longer they stayed.
Net Promoter Score climbs with time in the program. Everyone who stayed more than three months, taken together, scores +58.
+0
NPS · 0–3 months
+0
3–6 months
+0
6+ months
And 24% go back to lift the next generation of students.
1. Share now working, by time spent on an INJAZ program and by number of formative moments experienced. Base: finished-studying alumni, n=1,404. Dashed line: the report’s average across working-age alumni, 52%. 2. Base: finished-studying alumni, n=1,404; excludes 215 who don't remember. 3. NPS: all alumni; excludes 215 who don't remember. Figures show association, not causation. More engaged young people may also choose longer programs.
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
Those who give back recommend INJAZ the loudest.
Net Promoter Score climbs from +15 to +64 as alumni get more involved.
+0
not engaged
+0
engaged
+0
give back
Net Promoter Score, by engagement level · each alum in one group
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The deeper they went, the closer they stayed.
0%
0–1
0%
2–3
0%
4–5
0%
6+
share who stay engaged, by formative moments experienced
Chapter 05 · The INJAZ multiplier
The Company Program: inside a real company.
Base: finished-studying alumni, n=1,404 · Company Program 560, other programs 843. 'Employ others' is measured among the 336 who run a business (Company Program 174, other programs 162). Gold marker = Company Program; the lit run is the gap.
INJAZ mainly showed me just how easy it is to truly take the first step. That all these barriers I had were 80% just in my head.
Khawla
Name invented to protect identity. Words verbatim from the 2026 alumni survey.
The talent is real.The method works.The mission continues.
2,476 alumni across 13 nations shared what INJAZ made possible. The same pattern holds nation to nation: belief, then skills, then work. And it doesn't stop with them. The ones who gained the most give the most back: mentoring, hiring, showing up for the next cohort.
The 336 founders you met had finished studying. 212 of them employ at least one other person, and together their businesses carry around 2,000 jobs. 34% say they would likely not have founded a business without INJAZ.
Believe80%→Ready for work78%→Get in faster71%→Create opportunity1 in 5→Give back39%
The last step starts someone else’s first.
The scale
2,476 answered this survey. They’re not the whole story.
INJAZ has delivered more than 10 million student learning experiences across two decades.
The dots were people all along.
2,476 stories like this one. Each one starting more.
Tap to celebrate
Thank you to the stakeholders and partners who supported this journey, and to the 2,476 alumni who answered.
Before a career is possible, it has to feel possible.
80%
credit INJAZ with shaping their career direction and development.
Initiative84%
Teamwork84%
Confidence83%
Belief is the first thing alumni name and the hardest to measure. Alongside career direction, they report stronger initiative, teamwork and confidence (self-reported, and all pointing the same way).
And they'd recommend it: a Net Promoter Score of +34 across all alumni (a favourable score on industry bands), climbing to +58 among alumni who participated for more than three months.
Base for career direction: finished-studying alumni, n=1,404. Source: INJAZ Al-Arab alumni impact survey 2026.
Chapter 02 · Skills development
Belief becomes action when our alumni feel equipped with concrete skills to bring to a job or venture.
78%
of working alumni use these skills in their current job or business.
Communication83%
Leadership81%
Problem-solving80%
Financial literacy70%
Digital & tech68%
Skills come from doing. Alumni most often name a team project, presenting to an audience, or writing a business plan as the hands-on moments that shaped them. A third recall one such moment, and more than a quarter recall five or more.
And the skills stick: 37% use them regularly and 41% occasionally, and 72% connect their current work to their INJAZ experience.
Base: all 2,476 respondents; the 78% is based on working alumni only. Source: INJAZ Al-Arab alumni impact survey 2026.
Chapter 03 · Employment & entrepreneurship
336 businesses, and the people they hired.
~2,000
jobs created by these 212 founders.
Run a business336
Employ someone212
Women founders53%
Alumni report 17% not in employment, education or training, against a 32% Arab-states benchmark: a benchmark, not a control group (alumni self-select into INJAZ). Among those who finished studying and entered the labour market, 7 in 10 are working or running a business.
And many make their own work: 80% of finished-studying alumni considered a business, 229 are actively planning one now, and 34% of adult alumni say they would likely not have founded a business without INJAZ. The ~2,000-jobs figure is deliberately conservative: each business counted at the midpoint of its reported employee band, the open top band held at 50.
Base for the ~2,000 jobs: the 212 alumni whose business employs at least one person (band-midpoint estimate, no extrapolation). “7 in 10 working”: labour-market alumni, n=1,115. Benchmark: youth NEET, ages 15–24, Arab states (International Labour Organization, Statistics in Arab States, 2026). Source: INJAZ Al-Arab alumni impact survey 2026.
Chapter 04 · Alumni engagement and contribution
What they gained, they hand back.
24%
give back: mentoring, volunteering, showing up.
Stay connected39%
Mentor students14%
Volunteer13%
Attend events11%
The categories overlap: nearly 3 in 10 alumni engage in two or more ways, which is why the individual lines sum past the 24% headline.
39% stay connected in at least one way. The gap between staying connected and actively giving back is the programme's clearest growth surface.
NPS among alumni who stayed 6+ months, against +21 at 0–3 months.
0–3 months43%
3–6 months66%
6+ months69%
Every metric moves the same direction with dose. Share now working climbs 43% → 66% → 69% by time, and 42% → 48% → 58% → 78% by number of formative moments (base: 1,404 finished-studying alumni; the report’s average across working-age alumni is 52%); skills used at work 74% → 85% → 88%; Net Promoter Score +21 → +51 → +65. The Company Program (inside a real company) takes it furthest: 82% stay engaged, against 17% from other programmes, and 66% are now working, against 43%.
This is association, not causation, and the survey cannot resolve it: more-engaged young people may also choose longer programmes. The honest claim is that longer participation travels with better outcomes.
Before INJAZ, I was fresh out of high school, entering my undergraduate accounting program with a very limited understanding of how the world works. I had no idea how businesses anchor societies.
That all changed when a professor defined entrepreneurship for me and I drew a pattern between people deciding to take a risk and making a difference or a change in society. I made the decision to do that myself during my first INJAZ session.
That day, I started aspiring to become who I am today.
After multiple years of participating in INJAZ and its company programs, I have engaged in entrepreneurial and business activities that have enriched my skillset, allowing me to set myself apart as a business-oriented professional. I developed an appetite to do more. To innovate. To make changes in the world.
That’s how INJAZ contributed to my development, and career direction.
