Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship
Young people can be a positive force for development across the globe. At SNV, we support entrepreneurial young women and men to create economic opportunities for themselves and others.
Today, there are 1.2 billion young people aged between 15-24, and by 2030 that figure is expected to grow by 7%. At the same time, global youth unemployment is estimated at 13.1%.
Giving young people a voice
As young women and men increasingly demand more just, equitable, and progressive opportunities and solutions in their societies, the need to address the challenges they face has become more pressing than ever – particularly if they are to contribute to a productive economy.
Young people today increasingly want a role in decision-making and are vocal about their need for equal opportunities – and they deserve to have their voice heard.
We know that youth can be a positive force for development when provided with the knowledge and opportunities they need to thrive, whether that’s access to education, skills, and ultimately access to factors of production and markets that can support them to start and grow enterprises or absorb them into the labour force.
Creating new opportunities
Since 2013, SNV has reached 750,000 young people and helped create meaningful employment for over 537,000 young people.
SNV applies a market systems development approach to facilitate access to opportunities for young people. The contextual framework Access-Match-Grow-Enable (AMGE) is applied in over ten countries to facilitate access to markets, finance and assets, skills and agency, and an inclusive enabling environment.
We facilitate links between the labour market and skilled youth to stimulate employment and entrepreneurship opportunities. YEE provides entrepreneurial out-of-school, underemployed, and unemployed young women and men with the tools, skills, and networks that enable them to identify opportunities in SNV’s core sectors. And it’s something we bring as a core element across all of our work.
RAYEE 1, a project implemented in partnership with Mastercard Foundation in Ethiopia, is a case in point. It aims to reach 1 million young people (80% young rural women) and create 800,000 jobs by 2030. RAYEE Phase I adaptations enabled 172,000 young women to access dignified work, mobilised €9.81M in finance, increased savings by €1.3M, and supported the establishment of 39,132 micro and small enterprises, of which 73.8% are in the agri-food sector.
Our young people can play a vital role in bringing about the systems transformations that will ensure they inherit a better world – and we want to enable them to thrive.
YEE strategy 2030
The Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship global strategy aligns with SNV's 2030 strategy to harness the leadership potential of young people in creating a sustainable and more equitable future.
