In sub-Saharan Africa the number of youth is expected to more than double by 2050 and reach almost 600 million by 2100, with most of them living in rural areas. Countries have to urgently create employment opportunities in rural areas to reap the demographic dividends of this ‘youth bulge’. Jobs potential for youth in rural development is presumed but little is known about specific strategies that turn this potential into actual job opportunities. In our upcoming webinar, we will discuss strategies which work such as  collaboration with the private sector, improving perceptions of agriculture among rural youth and scaling activities by involving youth and through national and local partners.

Experts from GIZ will share the learnings from their latest report, “What Works in rural youth employment promotion?” and highlight the need for an ‘integrated’ approach for rural youth employment promotion‒ with program activities on both the supply side and the demand side of the labor market. The webinar will also feature projects from African countries‒ Employment Promotion Programme (EPP III) Sierra Leone & Agricultural Value Chains for Sustainable Development (A4SD) to showcase their ‘integrated’ approaches, results and critical success factors, including how they are adapting to COVID-19