Expanding Opportunities

Given the widely varying needs of Africa’s youth, they need exposure to new people, new ideas, new resources and many other forms of opportunities on an ongoing basis. This exposure is critical to changing their mindsets, showing them what is possible, and helping unlock their potential.

Aligning Education, Training, and Job Preparation

We believe that education and training opportunities for youth must be aligned with real-world needs. Formal and non-formal education must provide opportunities and benefits to young people at all levels. We pursue this path by curating innovative training and curricula, internships, extracurricular activities, problem-based learning, and apprenticeships, among others.

We build collaborative partnerships between education institutions and industry, to ensure that youth can receive education and training that is more relevant to employer needs, engenders entrepreneurship, and facilitates improved career pathways.

Business & Financial Services

For youth to realise their full economic potential, they will need increased access to financial services and increased financial capability to use those services effectively to invest in their education, enterprises, and futures. Yet youth face many barriers in accessing financial services, including restrictions in the legal and regulatory environment, inappropriate and inaccessible products and services, and low financial capability.

In response, we engage policy makers, regulators, Financial Service Providers, youth-serving organisations, youth themselves, and other relevant stakeholders to improve the legal and regulatory environment by promoting national strategies for financial education and developing legislations that are inclusive and protective of youth rights, including minimising age restrictions and making identification requirements flexible.

We stimulate and support the financial sector to design youth-friendly financial products and services, promote policies that offer incentives or subsidies to open and use a savings account, and support the development of innovative delivery channels such as agent banking, mobile banking, and school banking that promote access to youth financial services.

We invest in the development and delivery of financial education and entrepreneurship programmes to increase the financial capabilities of youth, including promoting the integration of financial education and entrepreneurship curriculum into the national curriculum, and working with other youth-serving organisations to reach out-of-school youth with financial education. We also work to expand market opportunities for youth enterprises across sectors to foster local economic development.

Strengthening Youth-Adult Relationships

One of the most important resources, relevant across contexts, that can contribute to youth success and wellbeing, is relationships with committed and caring adults. Adult relationships may be with parents, other adults who youth encounter informally, teachers, or formal mentors.

We curate high-quality intergenerational relationships that help youth thrive – relationships where youth and adults are emotionally connected in a positive manner, are reciprocal, are progressively complex, and have a balance of power.

We ensure that these high-quality youth-adult relationships make youth feel safe, heard, and valued so that they can find the motivation and confidence to lead and connect with others, find pathways to successful economic and social engagement, constructively navigate uncertainty and change, and create positive social change.

Facilitating Access to Quality Information

Youth must have the right to access information. They need access to quality information for their own lives and to become powerful advocates for access to quality information in their communities and society. We empower youth to access quality information across all aspects of their lives, including facilitating the achievement of economic livelihoods, job opportunities, and personal goals; exercising political rights; participating in civic activities; and informing health, education, and security decisions.

We equip youth with the skills to access, process, generate, disseminate, discern, and engage with data to make informed decisions, hold those in power accountable, and take actions that will improve their lives.

Fostering Safe Spaces and Inclusive Communities

We provide safe spaces for all youth, regardless of gender, age, religion, race, ethnicity, and other dimensions of diversity, so that they can have physical and psychological safety, forge supportive relationships, feel a sense of belonging, and explore a range of skills-building and leadership opportunities. We provide in-person and virtual spaces and communities, and support youth to exchange information and resources; express opinions in a non-judgmental setting; develop self-confidence and social, emotional, and leadership skills; and grow their networks.