This report begins by laying out the dynamics of the youth employment challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa: The demographic transition, the role of mineral exports, the largely untapped reservoir of opportunities in farming, and the aspirations of youth and policy makers, which focus on the wage employment sector at the expense of more immediate opportunities in family farming and household enterprises. The report then examines obstacles faced by households and firms in meeting the youth employment challenge. It focuses primarily on productivity because it is the key to higher earnings as well as to more stable, less vulnerable, livelihoods. The report identifies specific areas where government intervention can reduce obstacles to productivity growth.