LEED aims to empower, support and employ women, youth and minorities in the technical, digital and cultural industries by providing them the mentorship they need to structure and plan their career as well as giving them access to opportunities that will strengthen their professional capacity. Furthermore, our LEED Live Talk biweekly program introduces successful women in the technical, digital and cultural industries who share their success stories to worldwide audience and inspire young girls and boys to fulfill their potential. LEED also aspires to empower women and minorities from different socioeconomic backgrounds and marginalized communities by providing them access to funds that would bring their innovative ideas and projects to life.

Under this pillar, LEED’s main focus is to promote young males and females in the technical, digital and cultural industries aging between 18 and 35 years old. We empower, connect and support the next generation of young leaders in the technical, digital and cultural industries from Africa, Central Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe via providing them the access and opportunities needed to structure their careers, pursue their dreams, and inspire other young individuals in their respective communities. Through mentorship, exchange, content creation and publishing, we strengthen LEED’s beneficiaries’ professional capacity, and expand the young’s interest in the technical, digital and cultural careers. LEED empowers as well young individuals coming from different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds to become financially independent through providing access to finance should they wish to scale up their innovative ideas.

LEED takes an inclusive approach throughout its projects implementation leaving no one behind. During the next five years, LEED will focus on empowering women, minority groups, LGBTQI++, youth in marginalized communities and persons with disabilities in the different regions that LEED operates in. It is worth noting that in doing so, LEED wants to Do No Harm, and hence dealing with these vulnerable groups takes place in the most subtle ways to avoid any risk of jeopardizing their physical or moral integrity.

Through its civil society strengthening program, LEED accompanies where it operates community-based associations, grassroots movements and other NGOs in need to strengthen their institutional capacity through trainings and peer-to-peer coaching. LEED takes a needs assessment approach with its target groups before launching the training and peer-to-peer coaching program. Trainings include – but are not limited to - IT skills development, financial planning, strategizing and building a clear mission, governance, fundraising and operations development. Under the current WOMENTUM project, LEED strives to strengthen feminist organizations and grassroots feminist movements’ structures across the MENA region and unify their battle for gender equality via gathering them in a transnational digital platform.