GENEVA (ILO News) – The Government of Denmark and the International Labour Organization (ILO) signed a cooperation agreement with a total value of approximately US$40 million to fund initiatives aimed at generating more decent jobs for young women and men in Africa. First phase in Benin, Burkina Faso, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe
The “Unleashing African Entrepreneurship” and “Promoting Post-Primary Education” initiatives are two of five Key Initiatives identified by the Africa Commission, initiated by the Danish Government and involving African and international leaders, to improve development cooperation with African countries and find new and innovative strategies for creating jobs for youth based on private sector-led growth.
“The ILO is proud to be part of these two major initiatives, which will create new jobs, increase access to education and provide decent work for young African women and men,” said Alette van Leur, Director of the ILO’s Department of Partnerships and Development Cooperation. “By focusing on entrepreneurship and skills development we will contribute to the Commission’s noble goal of helping Africa’s youth share in a fair globalization”.
The aim of the first initiative – implemented in partnership with the Youth Employment Network, comprised of the United Nations, the ILO and the World Bank – is to stimulate the creativity and innovative capabilities of Africa’s youth. This will be done through the promotion of a culture of entrepreneurship, including through formal education, through support to young people already in the labour market to start up and improve their existing enterprises and economic activities, and through improved access to finance in order to allow young people to translate their good ideas into practical and sustainable ventures. It is expected that this initiative alone will create at least 23,000 new jobs and more than 11,000 new businesses. In its first phase, the programme will be implemented in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
The second initiative will seek to increase the opportunities for young women and men to find gainful and productive employment through expanding and improving community-based training and upgrading informal apprenticeship systems. Focusing on work in the rural areas, this programme will initially be implemented in Benin, Burkina Faso and Zimbabwe.
The Africa Commission was launched by the Prime Minister of Denmark in 2008. It consisted of Heads of State and governments, politicians, experts, representatives from international and regional organisations as well as the business community, civil society and the academic world. The five Key Initiatives were presented in the final report launched at the third and conclusive meeting of the Africa Commission in May 2009 in Copenhagen. More information can be found on www.africacommission.um.dk.
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