Business

Main Publications December 11, 2025 03:03 MIN Energy Transition in Yemen: A Path to Justice and Sustainable Development By Abeer Al-Eryani, and Musaed Aklan Yemen’s energy sector is currently facing a severe crisis. For millions of Yemenis, accessing reliable electricity is a daily struggle, characterized by prolonged blackouts, limited fuel supplies, and deteriorating infrastructure, which in turn exacerbate the country's humanitarian conditions. This policy brief underscores the importance of a just and conflict-sensitive energy transition in Yemen, addressing the interconnected challenges of conflict, economic instability, and energy poverty. It emphasizes the urgent need for an energy transition that enhances energy access, promotes decarbonization, and supports peacebuilding and socioeconomic recovery. The brief outlines the current energy landscape in Yemen, identifies critical policy gaps, and highlights both top-down and grassroots opportunities for sustainable energy development. It acknowledges the significant challenges in the energy sector, including its… Continue reading Main Publications September 15, 2025 01:35 MIN Fostering Opportunities for E-Commerce Growth in Yemen By Aylin Junga Yemen's e-commerce sector holds significant potential to drive economic growth and financial inclusion, particularly for women and rural communities, but faces major challenges, including poor internet connectivity, limited digital payment systems, and the absence of legal and regulatory frameworks. The country remains heavily cash-based, with minimal access to formal banking and fragmented oversight, exposing consumers and providers to fraud and limiting sector development. Internet infrastructure is among the worst globally, with only 17.7 percent of the population online in 2024, though the recent introduction of Starlink offers hope for improved connectivity. Conflict-related damage to transportation networks further hinders delivery services. Despite these obstacles, some businesses have found success, especially in urban areas, by adapting to logistical constraints. Yemen’s youthful, increasingly… Continue reading Main Publications August 4, 2025 08:01 MIN Yemen International Forum 2025 Report The third Yemen International Forum (YIF III) took place in Amman from February 16 - 18, 2025, gathering more than 300 participants to discuss peace prospects and stability in Yemen. Since the outbreak of the war on Gaza in October 2023, Yemen has been tested in myriad ways. Attacks on the Red Sea and the rising prominence of the Houthis within the “Axis of Resistance” have thrust Yemen into regional conflict, undermining hope for an end to its decade-long war. Since the last YIF held in the Hague in June 2023, where discussions centered on cautious optimism for a potential peace settlement, Yemen has undertaken a dramatic U-turn. Peace efforts have taken a backseat while international attention has increasingly turned… Continue reading Yemen Review section April 21, 2025 07:35 MIN January-March 2025 The Woeful Plight of Yemen’s IDPs: A Tale of Two Towns By Sam Ali In mid-2015, Yousef and his extended family escaped from an aerial bombardment near his hometown, Al-Shareefiah, a village outside Haradh in northern Hajjah governorate. The 68-year-old head of a large household had found refuge in Hayran, a nearby district, hoping the airstrikes would stop soon so he and his family could return to their homes and large banana plantation. But air and ground attacks intensified in Haradh and nearby areas, including Hayran, where they were taking shelter. He and his family were soon on the run again. Now, nearly a decade since he abandoned his hometown, Yousef lives with his family in a makeshift camp for internally displaced persons (IDPs). They have never been able to return home, nor have… Continue reading Yemen Review section April 21, 2025 18:21 MIN January-March 2025 The Economy — The Yemen Review, January-March 2025 By Wadhah Al-Awlaqi, and Aylin Junga The first quarter of 2025 saw escalating US sanctions against the Houthis. The sanctions, intended to suffocate the Houthis financially, could have a negative impact on Yemen’s already fragile financial system, and threaten to disrupt flows of crucial humanitarian aid and remittances, further destabilizing the economy. In mid-January, the US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Yemen Kuwait Bank for Trade and Investment for providing financial support to the Houthis. OFAC accused the bank of allowing the Houthis to exploit the Yemeni banking sector to launder money and transfer funds to their allies, including the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The bank was also alleged to have helped the Houthis establish and finance front companies involved… Continue reading Publications March 19, 2025 11:28 MIN Ten Takeaways from YIF III More than 300 participants gathered in Amman from February 16-19 to attend the highly anticipated third Yemen International Forum, the largest annual gathering focused on peace-building in Yemen. Over the course of three days, Yemeni political leaders, tribal figures, women, minorities, youth, and civil society activists, alongside regional and international actors, UN representatives, and experts, engaged in candid and, at times, difficult discussions aimed at restoring peace and stability in Yemen and preventing further escalation of conflict. The optimism for a peace settlement that characterized the first two YIF forums, held in Stockholm (2022) and the Hague (2023), had been tempered by the Red Sea crisis and Yemen’s involvement in wider regional conflict. The Forum provided the first opportunity for… Continue reading Main Publications February 5, 2025 27:58 MIN Houthi Detentions Leave Stark Choices for Aid Sector By Casey Coombs, and Ned Whalley On January 23, the Houthi group (Ansar Allah) detained seven UN staff members working in Sana’a. In response, the UN halted the movement of all staff working in Houthi-controlled territories as Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the UN workers’ immediate release. But the incident is just the latest in a string of disappearances and detentions of UN, NGO, and civil society staff in Yemen, who are often held without charge and denied contact with lawyers or family members. In the early summer of 2024, the Houthis began to forcibly disappear dozens of Yemeni civil society organization (CSO) and non-governmental organization (NGO) workers and UN staff. These detentions were soon accompanied by unsubstantiated charges of espionage and coerced televised confessions. The… Continue reading Main Publications January 6, 2025 31:12 MIN Mahrah University: Paving the Way for Workforce Transformation By Tawfeek Al-Ganad, and Lara Uhlenhaut For decades, Yemen’s higher education system has been characterized by a persistent mismatch between graduates’ skills and the changing requirements of the market. The last labor force survey carried out in 2014 showed that less than one-third of Yemen’s labor force had secondary or tertiary education, and a qualification mismatch was found among some 83 percent of the employed population. Yemen’s struggle to produce a skilled workforce can be attributed to many factors, including inflexible curriculums, outdated teaching methods, failure to adapt to technological advancements, and a lack of strategic vision for admissions and curriculum development. Undoubtedly, the historical absence of a unified and coordinated vision for higher education has been exacerbated by a decade-long war and its detrimental impact… Continue reading Yemen Review section October 16, 2024 14:25 MIN Quarterly: July-September 2024 Politics and Diplomacy — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: July-September 2024 By Casey Coombs The Houthi Security and Intelligence Service has continued airing forced confessions by former employees of the US embassy in Sana’a, making increasingly outlandish claims of decades-long US spy operations in the country. The latest episodes, aired June 29, July 14, August 17, and September 1-2, focused on purported efforts to influence Yemeni culture, society, politics, and the education sector. Previous segments detailed alleged efforts to influence Yemen’s economy and agricultural sector. Regarding allegations of cultural interference, the Yemeni detainees (referred to as spies in the videos) discussed how the embassy’s cultural and media attachés worked in coordination with the CIA. English language courses offered by institutes such as the Yemen American Language Institute (YALI) and America-Mideast Educational and Training Services… Continue reading Yemen Review section October 16, 2024 27:46 MIN Quarterly: July-September 2024 The Economy — The Yemen Review, Quarterly: July-September 2024 By Wadhah Al-Awlaqi The ongoing economic conflict in Yemen escalated to include a fierce struggle between its bifurcated central bank for control over the nation's fractured monetary system and financial institutions. On June 26, the Central Bank of Yemen in Aden (CBY-Aden) issued a new directive, effectively banning banks and exchange outlets from working with unlicensed electronic payment companies. This move specifically targeted 12 e-wallet companies, which were deemed to be facilitating electronic payments and transfers without the necessary authorization. This appeared to be a part of a strategy to increase pressure on the Houthis by limiting alternatives to the deteriorating banknotes in use in areas under the group’s control and to prevent inflating the cash base in Yemen’s currently fragmented regulatory environment.… Continue reading Main Publications September 23, 2024 25:35 MIN Enhancing the Role of Microfinance Banks for Sustainable Impact in Yemen By Wadhah Al-Awlaqi Yemen's microfinance sector is undergoing a radical transformation. Despite initial success in empowering small businesses, the ongoing conflict has exposed deep vulnerabilities. Competition between the fractured central banks has driven a surge in microfinance bank (MFB) licenses. While this promises to expand financial inclusion, it raises serious concerns about long-term sustainability and financial stability. Several other factors are driving the transformation of existing money exchange companies into MFBs. These include the erosion of trust in the traditional banking system, the growth of the informal financial sector, and maneuvering by the exchange companies themselves. Additionally, lower entry requirements compared to conventional banks make becoming an MFB an attractive option. However, the surge in MFBs presents its own challenges. The divide in… Continue reading Main Publications August 21, 2024 27:41 MIN Women’s Networks Shaping Economic and Social Empowerment in Hadramawt By Dr. Maryam Alkubati This policy brief highlights how women’s networks in Hadramawt governorate have provided crucial support for Yemeni women, helping them overcome professional barriers in a social context where traditional norms often restrict their public roles. Across various professional fields, Hadrami women have credited much of their success to the assistance provided by and opportunities afforded through women’s networks. Both formal and informal, these networks serve as essential support systems, providing women with emotional guidance, professional growth, access to information, mentorship, and collaborative opportunities, which are key to navigating the barriers to economic participation. Prominent organizations have helped bridge the gaps between local and broader community resources, connecting women in Hadramawt with influential figures and opening doors to opportunities that might otherwise… Continue reading