Can Entrepreneurship Help Stabilize Conflict Zones?

According to the UN, the three-year civil war in Yemen has claimed at least 9,245 lives and left over 52,000 people injured. Despite ongoing calls by the international community for a cessation of violence, the conflict continues to devastate Yemini society, with millions of citizens currently suffering from severe malnutrition and at risk of starvation and chronic disease.

Mokhtar Alkhanshali, the subject of the new Dave Eggers book, The Monk of Mokha, will present the case that fostering entrepreneurship will play a key role in bringing about a lasting peace in Yemen. Drawing from his experience of developing a project to help revitalize Yemen’s lost coffee industry, Alkhanshali will discuss the effects of the civil war on him personally and his business. Through sharing the challenges of agricultural intervention work in a war-zone he will demonstrate how Yemen, and other developing nations, can move from humanitarian aid to economic empowerment.