Challenge Fund for Youth Employment

✨ As the summer draws to a close, we are excited to showcase the conclusion of our first cohort of calls in Uganda with Woord en Daad Marula Creative Agency Balloon Ventures and Light for the World Uganda. As pioneers of our first public call for solutions in 2019, these organisations have helped teach us invaluable lessons and played a critical role in creating, matching, and improving jobs for young people across sectors like agriculture, financial services, inclusion, and organic waste. To commemorate these incredible milestones, last month we held a Celebrate, Learn, and Connect Event with our graduates along with other implementing partners and public and private sector players. Through dynamic breakout sessions, insightful panel discussions, a keynote, and inspiring closing remarks, we focused on ensuring our partners are well equipped to further scale and sustain their impact beyond CFYE.💪 Check out the event recap below and take a moment to celebrate the first graduation of many!👇

As August draws to a close, catch up on the latest initiatives from our team and partners in our new newsletter issue! 💡 Here you can read about the newest program milestones, events and publications from the CFYE Team and its partners in Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA region. Don't forget to subscribe to stay informed, and share with your LinkedIn network to spark change! 💥

🌱In Ethiopia, where 85% of the population relies on agriculture and forestry, African Bamboo is pioneering a sustainable revolution. By integrating bamboo agroforestry, innovative practices, technical training, and sustainable growth strategies, they're unlocking employment opportunities and youth potential in Ethiopia's bamboo resources.   Considering today's digital age, skill training often leans heavily on online platforms. However, African Bamboo recognises the importance of localised, hands-on training tailored to Ethiopia's booming bamboo sector. By combining #digital literacy with sector-specific skills, they are equipping rural youth and women with the tools they need to thrive and succeed. 🌍   🔗Find out more in the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/gRWTEMJK

📢Are you a consultancy firm with extensive experience with relevant research assignments in the #employment domain in an international context, focusing on youth and women? The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment is looking for an experienced consultancy firm to conduct qualitative research on Youth Retention Strategies within its portfolio of partners and beyond. The insights from this assignment will advance CFYE and partners’ understanding of workable solutions to the challenge of youth retention and contribute to tools and solutions that can be applied by businesses and other actors delivering youth employment interventions.  👉Check the Scope of Work on our website Follow the instructions to submit your proposal: https://lnkd.in/dPguutNP Marlou Rijk

The job market can be a daunting challenge for young people - endless applications, few call-backs, and tough competition can make it seem almost impossible. For Mildred and Naomi, this was their reality for several years after graduating until they found a hope for change through Generation Kenya's Digital Customer Service Programme. 💡   🚀 Generation Kenya is on a mission to provide undeserved youth with the skills they need to succeed in today's job market with their Skills. Opportunities. Growth project. The project aims to effectively enhance young people's livelihoods in a sustainable way by equipping them with skills for employment opportunities in technology, apparel manufacturing, and customer service sectors.   Mildred and Naomi's stories highlight the incredible impact of this skill development in forging successful careers. Read more about their journey below. 👇   https://lnkd.in/e69-AhsJ

After celebrating the conclusion of our first call in Uganda, we're proud to continue the impact with the launch of a new Youth Advisory Committee (YAC) in partnership with Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Uganda 💚👏

👉 The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment is issuing a #tender for "End of Project Audits on Implementing Partners – Program Wide Requirement", in the #Netherlands. The auditor or an auditor consortium is expected to conduct individual audits on the remaining Implementing Partners (currently estimated to be 107) until the end of the project in October 2026. Check the website for more information and follow the indications included in the tender. For any inquiry, please contact Jade Blake via email. 🔗 https://lnkd.in/eb9hmiwf

🌍 This year’s #InternationalYouthDay is dedicated to celebrating the significant contributions of young individuals in fostering innovation within the digital and technological landscape, instrumental to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Our implementing partner in Kenya, Habitat for Humanity Nederland, in consortium with The Toolkit for Skills and Innovation, Gjenge_Makers and MycoTile, has been working relentlessly to match young men and women to internships and jobs, and to connect them to digital job platforms. The Toolkit for Skills and Innovation has been instrumental in equipping them with new or advanced skills in sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, and construction, contributing to their common objective to link more than 900 young individuals to job opportunities. Listening to the stories of its young beneficiaries, it becomes evident that the impact of this initiative extends beyond mere skills acquisition. Young women and men feel empowered, discover their entrepreneurial spirit, and are motivated to share their knowledge with their peers, sparking a chain reaction of change and progress. On International Youth Day, just like every other day, CFYE is committed to supporting those who guide young change-makers from training to job opportunities. Let's celebrate their work by watching this insightful video starring young beneficiaries of the program, Jane Muigai Kamphuis - the Director of Toolkit, Muthomi Murage - one of the Trainers, and Beatrice Gichohi, CFYE’s Country Lead for Kenya. 💥 Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kenya

💡 Youth-centred methodologies are revolutionising youth work by prioritising the voices, experiences, and needs of young people. Our unique position at the intersection of youth engagement and private sector collaboration enables us to deeply understand youth perspectives, aspirations, and priorities. Our mission isn't just about creating jobs; it's also crafting quality opportunities that resonate with young people.   🌱 In our latest research in Ethiopia, our learning team focused on the agricultural sector's potential to attract youth. Despite abundant opportunities in Ethiopia's agriculture and forestry sectors, young people often shy away due to these industries' perceived unattractiveness. To address this, our team partnered with VSO youth experts to uncover these perceptions and explore how technologies could reshape the industry. Over a dynamic three-day workshop, youth experts participated in a comprehensive research-design journey and co-creation of research methodologies. After the workshop, the youth experts strategised sampling, conducted focus group discussions, interviews, and surveys as part of the pilot phase.✨   Check out some highlights below and stay tuned for the research outputs to come!🔍

📣 A lot happened this July and we are ready to wrap it up in our monthly newsletter 'ImpactFuel - The CFYE Update'! 💡 Here you can read about the newest program milestones, events and publications from the CFYE Team and its partners in Sub-Saharan Africa and the MENA region...and listen to our new podcast episode! Don't forget to subscribe to stay informed, and share with your LinkedIn network to spark change! 💥