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Creating, matching and improving 230.000 jobs for young women and men
in Subsaharan Africa and the Middle East.
The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 7-year programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The Fund is managed by the Palladium Group, Randstad and VSO.
Our Impact
More Than Matching: How iCareer and CFYE Turned a Hiring Gap into a Growth Model
Faatimah Clarke
July 22, 2026
In Egypt’s ever-evolving labour market, opportunity and uncertainty often move in tandem. The demand for talent is rapidly growing, yet significant barriers still prevent many young people from accessing the right pathways into employment. Employers, on the other hand, are under increasing pressure to identify, assess, and recruit talent more efficiently in a landscape where skill gaps and limited work experience remain persistent challenges. Founded in 2012, iCareer was created to bridge exactly this divide between education and employment by helping young people identify suitable career pathways, build relevant skills, and access job opportunities that match their aspirations. For CEO & Founder Akram Marwan, that vision has always been anchored in one North Star: ‘Impact at Scale’. As the company grew, however, scale became less about reach alone and more about what sat behind it: the systems, infrastructure, and employer-facing capabilities needed to support expansion in a more durable way.
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More Impact Stories:
More Than Matching: How iCareer and CFYE Turned a Hiring Gap into a Growth Model
Faatimah Clarke
July 22, 2026
In Egypt’s ever-evolving labour market, opportunity and uncertainty often move in tandem. The demand for talent is rapidly growing, yet significant barriers still prevent many young people from accessing the right pathways into employment. Employers, on the other hand, are under increasing pressure to identify, assess, and recruit talent more efficiently in a landscape where skill gaps and limited work experience remain persistent challenges. Founded in 2012, iCareer was created to bridge exactly this divide between education and employment by helping young people identify suitable career pathways, build relevant skills, and access job opportunities that match their aspirations. For CEO & Founder Akram Marwan, that vision has always been anchored in one North Star: ‘Impact at Scale’. As the company grew, however, scale became less about reach alone and more about what sat behind it: the systems, infrastructure, and employer-facing capabilities needed to support expansion in a more durable way.
Read More
Who Counts as Talent? Horn Afrique Poultry Farm’s Journey to Inclusive Business Growth
Sade Aalto-Setala
June 17, 2026
In Jijiga Town, located within the Somali Region of Eastern Ethiopia, a poultry company is pursuing a mission that goes far beyond production. Horn Afrique Poultry Farm (HAPF), led by CEO Mr. Farhan Abdulkadir, is committed not only to delivering high-quality products, but also creating jobs for youth, supporting community development, and advancing sustainable agricultural practices.
HAPF is among several of CFYE's Implementing Partners demonstrating that business growth and social impact don’t have to be at odds, but in fact, can strengthen and support each other. Since partnering with CFYE, the company has expanded its poultry units and processing capacity, strengthening its credibility with financial institutions and attracting new partnerships. At the same time, HAPF has managed to create income opportunities for 1,031 youth across its value chain, of which 528 were women, thus achieving 103% of the jobs planned with CFYE.
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A Community Built in 100Weeks
Sade Aalto-Setala
March 4, 2026
In the rural town of Mitala Maria in Central Uganda, groups of young women gather each week for entrepreneurship training offered through a collaboration between Simbuka, 100Weeks programme, and CFYE. Through the years, these sessions have grown into safe and trusted spaces where women learn practical financial skills and openly share their personal joys and challenges.
Overseeing this work is Catherine Tabingwa, Senior Program Manager for 100Weeks Uganda. Their model is intentionally simple: Each woman in the programme receives €8 in mobile money once a week for a period of 100 weeks, alongside weekly training and peer-to-peer learning sessions.
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More Than Matching: How iCareer and CFYE Turned a Hiring Gap into a Growth Model
Faatimah Clarke
July 22, 2026
In Egypt’s ever-evolving labour market, opportunity and uncertainty often move in tandem. The demand for talent is rapidly growing, yet significant barriers still prevent many young people from accessing the right pathways into employment. Employers, on the other hand, are under increasing pressure to identify, assess, and recruit talent more efficiently in a landscape where skill gaps and limited work experience remain persistent challenges. Founded in 2012, iCareer was created to bridge exactly this divide between education and employment by helping young people identify suitable career pathways, build relevant skills, and access job opportunities that match their aspirations. For CEO & Founder Akram Marwan, that vision has always been anchored in one North Star: ‘Impact at Scale’. As the company grew, however, scale became less about reach alone and more about what sat behind it: the systems, infrastructure, and employer-facing capabilities needed to support expansion in a more durable way.
Read More
More Than Matching: How iCareer and CFYE Turned a Hiring Gap into a Growth Model
Faatimah Clarke
July 22, 2026
In Egypt’s ever-evolving labour market, opportunity and uncertainty often move in tandem. The demand for talent is rapidly growing, yet significant barriers still prevent many young people from accessing the right pathways into employment. Employers, on the other hand, are under increasing pressure to identify, assess, and recruit talent more efficiently in a landscape where skill gaps and limited work experience remain persistent challenges. Founded in 2012, iCareer was created to bridge exactly this divide between education and employment by helping young people identify suitable career pathways, build relevant skills, and access job opportunities that match their aspirations. For CEO & Founder Akram Marwan, that vision has always been anchored in one North Star: ‘Impact at Scale’. As the company grew, however, scale became less about reach alone and more about what sat behind it: the systems, infrastructure, and employer-facing capabilities needed to support expansion in a more durable way.
Read More
Pathways to Employment: Paper 3
Faatimah Clarke
August 5, 2026
Agriculture remains one of the main sources of employment for youth across Africa and the Middle East, yet most young people remain concentrated in informal, low-productivity roles with limited stability or prospects for advancement. At the same time, Agribusinesses - described in this paper as enterprises engaged in agricultural production, aggregation, processing, and support services - hold potential to generate meaningful employment opportunities for youth. For CFYE, Agribusinesses represent a critical pathway for inclusive job creation, particularly in rural economies. By integrating young people into structured value chains as employees and entrepreneurs, these businesses can help shift youth from informal work into more stable and productive roles. However, Agribusinesses face persistent barriers on both the supply and demand sides of the labour market. On the supply side, young people often lack access to land, finance, technical skills, and reliable market linkages, which limits their ability to create or access better quality, more productive roles. Young women often face additional constraints, including restrictive social norms, unequal land rights, care responsibilities, mobility limitations, and reduced access to finance, training, and networks.On the demand side, Agribusinesses operate in volatile environments characterised by climate risks, thin profit margins, fragmented supply chains, and limited access to working capital. These factors constrain their ability to scale operations and invest in workforce development. Against this backdrop, the paper shows how Agribusinesses have potential to be powerful engines of youth employment when their commercial growth and workforce needs are supported together. Strengthening value chains, improving access to finance, investing in workforce skills, and enabling inclusive business practices will be essential for unlocking the full potential of Agribusinesses to generate sustainable and scalable employment opportunities for young people
Read More
More Learning material:
Pathways to Employment: Paper 3
Faatimah Clarke
August 5, 2026
Agriculture remains one of the main sources of employment for youth across Africa and the Middle East, yet most young people remain concentrated in informal, low-productivity roles with limited stability or prospects for advancement. At the same time, Agribusinesses - described in this paper as enterprises engaged in agricultural production, aggregation, processing, and support services - hold potential to generate meaningful employment opportunities for youth. For CFYE, Agribusinesses represent a critical pathway for inclusive job creation, particularly in rural economies. By integrating young people into structured value chains as employees and entrepreneurs, these businesses can help shift youth from informal work into more stable and productive roles. However, Agribusinesses face persistent barriers on both the supply and demand sides of the labour market. On the supply side, young people often lack access to land, finance, technical skills, and reliable market linkages, which limits their ability to create or access better quality, more productive roles. Young women often face additional constraints, including restrictive social norms, unequal land rights, care responsibilities, mobility limitations, and reduced access to finance, training, and networks.On the demand side, Agribusinesses operate in volatile environments characterised by climate risks, thin profit margins, fragmented supply chains, and limited access to working capital. These factors constrain their ability to scale operations and invest in workforce development. Against this backdrop, the paper shows how Agribusinesses have potential to be powerful engines of youth employment when their commercial growth and workforce needs are supported together. Strengthening value chains, improving access to finance, investing in workforce skills, and enabling inclusive business practices will be essential for unlocking the full potential of Agribusinesses to generate sustainable and scalable employment opportunities for young people
Read More
Pathways to Employment: Paper 2
Faatimah Clarke
July 6, 2026
Labour markets across Africa and the Middle East are undergoing rapid transformation driven by digital technologies. However, sectors with the potential to scale rapidly, such as e-commerce, educational technology (EdTech), and IT services, often struggle to find talent.
These digital sectors face a persistent mismatch between employer needs and the available talent pool. Addressing this challenge requires demand-driven approaches that not only equip young people with relevant skills but also ensure that training is directly connected to real job opportunities through structured pathways into employment.
In this context, Platforms for Skills-Building have emerged as a promising model, providing technical and soft skills training, mentorship, and job matching services to prepare youth for two key job types: digitally enabled jobs (e.g. retail staff using point of sale systems) or digitally delivered jobs (e.g. online customer support)
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Pathways to Employment: Paper 1
Faatimah Clarke
June 10, 2026
Labour markets across Africa and the Middle East are undergoing rapid transformation driven by digital technologies. However, sectors with the potential to scale rapidly, such as e-commerce, educational technology (EdTech), and IT services, often struggle to find talent.
These digital sectors face a persistent mismatch between employer needs and the available talent pool. Addressing this challenge requires demand-driven approaches that not only equip young people with relevant skills but also ensure that training is directly connected to real job opportunities through structured pathways into employment.
In this context, Platforms for Skills-Building have emerged as a promising model, providing technical and soft skills training, mentorship, and job matching services to prepare youth for two key job types: digitally enabled jobs (e.g. retail staff using point of sale systems) or digitally delivered jobs (e.g. online customer support)
Read More
Learning
Pathways to Employment: Paper 3
agribusinesses agriculture business funding partners pathways private sector skills upskilling youth
Faatimah Clarke
August 5, 2026
Agriculture remains one of the main sources of employment for youth across Africa and the Middle East, yet most young people remain concentrated in informal, low-productivity roles with limited stability or prospects for advancement. At the same time, Agribusinesses - described in this paper as enterprises engaged in agricultural production, aggregation, processing, and support services - hold potential to generate meaningful employment opportunities for youth. For CFYE, Agribusinesses represent a critical pathway for inclusive job creation, particularly in rural economies. By integrating young people into structured value chains as employees and entrepreneurs, these businesses can help shift youth from informal work into more stable and productive roles. However, Agribusinesses face persistent barriers on both the supply and demand sides of the labour market. On the supply side, young people often lack access to land, finance, technical skills, and reliable market linkages, which limits their ability to create or access better quality, more productive roles. Young women often face additional constraints, including restrictive social norms, unequal land rights, care responsibilities, mobility limitations, and reduced access to finance, training, and networks.On the demand side, Agribusinesses operate in volatile environments characterised by climate risks, thin profit margins, fragmented supply chains, and limited access to working capital. These factors constrain their ability to scale operations and invest in workforce development. Against this backdrop, the paper shows how Agribusinesses have potential to be powerful engines of youth employment when their commercial growth and workforce needs are supported together. Strengthening value chains, improving access to finance, investing in workforce skills, and enabling inclusive business practices will be essential for unlocking the full potential of Agribusinesses to generate sustainable and scalable employment opportunities for young people
Read More
Countries
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