With a $300,000 grant, IU students in the Kelley School of Business will provide business consulting and offer the support of a local business incubator to help Palestinian economic development, according to an IU press release.
The grant comes from the U.S. Department of State.
“Everywhere in the world, it is the private sector — not the government — that is the engine for economic growth,” Richard Buangan, U.S. consul for press and cultural affairs, said in the release. “Building business and creating jobs means more people can live a dignified life.”
The grant money will be distributed by Kelley’s Institute for International Business. The institute was also a part of the first phase for the Young Entrepreneurship Livelihood Program.
This initiative puts together students from Bethlehem University and the Kelley Direct program to create consulting teams to help small Palestinian enterprises.
The Young Entrepreneurship Program is a grant from the U.S. Department of State which expands the Kelley Direct consulting course. In 2014, the course trained students to provide consulting in Ramallah, and the grant will continue this work, providing consulting services in Bethlehem and other cities in the southern region of the West Bank, according to the release.
Fadi Kattan, dean of the Bethlehem University School of Business Administration, also said in the release that international consulting gives students at his school the ability to continually support Palestinian firms.
“Involving undergraduate students in such an activity will be a great experience for them and might encourage some of the participants to start thinking of starting their own businesses as well,” Kattan said in the release.
In the program, Kelley students and Bethlehem students will work with 12 growing Palestinian businesses for 18 months.
During their time together, the companies and the consulting coaches will work on issues including cash-flow management, controlling growth, marketing, accounting methods, pricing, revenue models, launch plans for products and scenario planning given the difficult business environment.
“This project builds a strong network with local Palestinian students to transfer knowledge and training of consulting methodology from Kelley School faculty and MBA students,” Idalene Kesner, dean of the Kelley School, said in the release. “While the project supports our culture of teamwork and our mission to be of service to others, it’s also a transformative experience for our students.”
Suzanne Grossman
