AfDB moots programme to create more than 800,000 jobs for youth

A new programme being championed by the African Development Bank (AfDB) will create more 800,000 jobs in 20 African countries, including Kenya.

The five-year Youth Employment Programme will benefit from a Sh12.4 billion ($130 million) fund by the bank. “By the time the programme will be over, 800,000 jobs will have been created to benefit the youth,” said AfDB’s Special Envoy on Gender Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi.

“Other opportunities within the programme are 20,000 internships, 10,000 agribusiness startups, and 30,000 new jobs in rural and urban areas, leading to incomes of at least $450 (Sh43, 000) per month.”  She said recently during a workshop in Abidj that the bank will roll out the programme to assist the targeted countries stem the high rate of unemployment.  According to Kenya’s Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Services, over 500,000 youth joins the local labour market yearly but only 60 per cent is absorbed.

Job market

According to AfDB, over 10 million young people in Africa are entering the job market each year. This is despite the strong growth performance of African economies over the recent years. “African countries despite the impressive economic growth the continent is enjoying have failed to create the number of jobs needed to absorb the growing number of the unemployed youth,” said Ms Geraldine.

She explained that the programme dubbed, ‘Empowering Novel Agribusiness-Led Employment for Youth in African Agriculture’ (ENABLE Youth) seeks to reinforce the roles of disenfranchised young African adults.

She warned that joblessness among young people is becoming a major pressing social, economic and political challenge facing Africa, mainly in the 21st Century.

Under the programme, AfDB targets to expand the agriculture sector which employs 60 per cent of Africa’s workforce.

This, Geraldine said will be achieved through a comprehensive outreach approach involving providing information, life-skills education, proven technologies and opportunities. The countries to benefit under the programme include Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana and Kenya. Others are Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The bank’s Sector Operations Vice-President Aly Abou-Sabaa said ENABLE Youth’s potential in employment creation even among women in Africa.