What is Jobs for Africa Strategy?

The aim of the strategy is to support African countries in scaling up responses to youth unemployment and underemployment crisis on the continent. The strategy will focus on practical, high-impact solutions aimed at creating opportunities through education and training, transformative jobs and a business environment conducive to youth entrepreneurship..

The goal of the strategy is to create 25 million jobs for African youth over the next decade and to equip 50 million youth with a mix of hard and soft skills to increase their employability as well as their entrepreneurial success rate. For this purpose, the strategy emphasizes partnerships including with the private sector, scaling up of solutions that work, and sustainable results for impact.

Youth are Africa’s greatest asset. While Africa’s economic growth is strong, there is an urgent need to promote inclusive economic transformation and jobs-induced growth to improve the quality of life for all Africans. Africa’s youth population is rapidly growing and expected to double to over 830 million by 2050. If properly harnessed, this increase in the working age population could support increased productivity and stronger, more inclusive economic growth across the continent.

However, this asset remains untapped due to unemployment and underemployment. The potential benefits of Africa’s youth population are unrealized as two thirds of non-student youth are unemployed, discouraged, or marginally employed. Only three million formal jobs are created annually while 10-12 million youth seek to enter the workforce each year. Even when jobs are available, youth often do not have the skills required by employers – despite improved access to education over the past several decades. Women are particularly impacted, often facing even greater barriers to accessing opportunities and earning equal pay.

jobs for youth in africa strategy

The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) launched its Jobs for Youth in Africa (JfYA) Strategy (2016-2025) at its Annual Meetings in May 2016 in Lusaka, Zambia. The aim of the strategy is to support African countries vis-à-vis scaling up responses to the youth unemployment and underemployment crisis on the continent.

Jobs for youth in africa innovation lab

The objective of the Lab is to support the youth employment and entrepreneurship ecosystems by incubating and piloting promising new entrepreneurship models and supporting entrepreneurs as well as their local entrepreneurship ecosystems. The Lab will also provide knowledge resources to enhance the skills of youth, address mismatches between mployees and employers, and provide resources to employers that should allow them to grow their business.

Jobs for youth in africa ministerial conferences

Starting in October 2016 up to February 2017, the African Development Bank held a series of Regional Ministerial Conferences on Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship for each sub-region of Africa. The meetings intended to share with the Ministers of Finance, Ministers of Youth, Ministers of Labour and Emplyment as well as other dignitaries the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Program and to help the countries’ in aligning with the continental outcomes.