GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Women of the Gaza Strip have long battled economic difficulties and unemployment by making and selling handicrafts. A new incubator for women entrepreneurs in the Rafah governorate aims to make these projects sustainable and to lead female entrepreneurs to new fields, such as mobile and computer repairs or fabricating high-quality products.

The Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the Rafah governorate in the southern Gaza Strip announced Jan. 9 the establishment of a council for women entrepreneurs. The council, the first of its kind in the governorate, will be a business incubator for women with different skills.

Najah Ayash, the director of women's programs at the Rafah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, was appointed head of the newly established council. “Rafah governorate needs a business incubator to empower and train women so that they can improve their grim economic situation,” she told Al-Monitor.

According to official statistics, the unemployment rate in the Gaza Strip exceeded 50%, and the poverty rate reached 53%. It is worse for women, with the rate of unemployment at  74.5 % in 2018, with a 5% increase from the previous year.