How to promote Youth Entrepreneurship in Uganda

KAMPALA (ILO NEWS) The ILO, with the support of the European Union (EU) in Uganda, will organise a national knowledge sharing conference on 24 November 2016 to promote key results achieved by the Youth Entrepreneurship Facility (YEF) Project in Uganda.

The main objective of the event is to showcase the successes of the Youth Entrepreneurship Facility (YEF) project and its partners over the past 30 months and mark the achievements of its young beneficiaries and partners.

The Conference will present results from activities, and investments on skills and entrepreneurship, on improving the productivity of young people, and on sustainable business models and offshoots that are expected to carry forward some activites of the project.

The Minister of Labour and Social Development, Hon. Peace Regis Mutuuzo, EU Head of Cooperation, Ms Michelle Labeeu and ILO Employment Specialist, Mr Chirove Jealous are expected to address participants at the opening ceremony.

The event will bring together various stakeholders from different ministries, development partners, private sector and industry representatives, civil society and youth organizations, researchers, general public as well as 60 YEF beneficiaries who will show case their products and services.

Areas to be covered include:

• Showcasing some of the main results achieved by the project
• Highlighting sustainability strategies being implemented by partners and
• Facilitating networking and sharing of experiences, strategies and initiatives.

The conference will use a number of interactive methods and strategies to communicate some of the key results from the project, such as:

• Exhibition of products and services produced by young entrepreneurs who have benefitted from the YEF programme
• Showcase of initiatives, business models and activities implemented by different stakeholders in different parts of the country
• Keynote presentations in plenary of selected studies and evaluation reports that highlight new knowledge generated
• Presentations of live and written case studies and compiled videos

Background information

Youth employment and underemployment remains a serious challenge not only in Uganda but in Africa as a whole. In Uganda, according to an ILO study, School to Work Transition Survey, 2015, the unemployment rate stands at 9.4 per cent while youth unemployment rate is at 6.5 per cent.

In addition to the significant unemployment figures, the country has a large informal sector and a high concentration of unemployment in low-paying and low productive agriculture as well and labour market characterised by acute underemployment especially in the rural areas.

Despite the relatively stable economy for the past 20 years, and several macro-economic reforms, this has not generated enough decent and productive jobs to absorb the high population growth.

In order to try and address this challenge, European Union committed to contribute financially towards a successful project, Youth Entrepreneurship Facility in Uganda, from May 2014 to December 2016.

As a follow-up, YEF project, which is being implemented by ILO in Uganda has sought to support young men and women to unleash their potential and skills in entrepreneurship to create decent jobs for themselves and fellow youth. The project focused mainly on urban and peri-urban centres in 11 selected districts namely; Kampala, Jinja, Mbale, Soroti, Lira, Oyam, Gulu, Kitgum, Arua, Nebbi and Zombo.