Impact Stories
Youth Narratives of Change
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.
Impact stories
Women Driving the Change in Nigeria – Literally!
Nigerian women working in the agricultural sector are negatively impacted by various systemic barriers. With limited access to land, financing, and technology they are often relegated to manual, low-income roles. Cultural norms and gender-based stereotypes also influence their access to roles that are usually taken on by men, for example in mechanisation or as tractor drivers, as they are seen as “too manly” for women. Being surrounded by such beliefs can be discouraging for young women trying to enter the growing AgriTech sector. Yet, three talented and passionate women from the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Abuja proved these beliefs wrong.
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Roots of Change: Building a Bamboo Empire through African Bamboo’s Seed Capital Programme
In the serene yet economically challenged district of Bursa, Ethiopia, four young individuals – Sintayehu Sirbo, Miriam Sirham, Etagu Debo, and Mikrie Melkamu – embarked on a journey to break the cycle of unemployment. Today, they stand as the proud founders of Heri Bamboo, a thriving household products enterprise born through African Bamboo’s CFYE-supported Seed Capital Programme.
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Setting Cybersecurity Talent Up for Success: Guiding Young Professionals in Kenya with Cyber Shujaa’s Placement Officers
Over the past decade, Kenya has emerged as a regional hub for technology and innovation, attracting both established companies and start-ups. This growth has been matched by a favourable political and business environment, leading to increased job opportunities across various sectors such as Information Communication and Technology (ICT), trade, agriculture, manufacturing, and logistics.
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Case studies
Driving Growth and Empowering Leaders: CFYE’s Leadership Development Programme
The CFYE portfolio encompasses a large group of fast-growing companies, where young people are enabled with the opportunity to quickly climb the ranks and receive a wealth of on-the-job training and experience. At the same time, many of the companies recognise the challenge to find the right senior-level talent to staff management teams and build out the managerial structure of the business. This is seen by these businesses as a key barrier for further growth.
To address this challenge, CFYE partnered with the African Management Institute (AMI), a pan-African social enterprise dedicated to equipping ambitious businesses across Africa with the tools they need to thrive. AMI combines technology with innovative learning methodologies, offering a mix of web-based and mobile content, in-person workshops or virtual webinars, and practical hands-on applications. Together, CFYE and AMI launched a Leadership Development Programme, aimed at senior managers from 15 of our implementing partners, to empower them in becoming highly effective leaders.
The programme targeted senior leadership and C-suite professionals, and equip them with strategies to empower teams, foster a healthy organisational culture, and deliver exceptional results. Through a blend of virtual workshops, access to an online learning platform, action learning projects, and coaching, participants gained critical management and leadership skills to drive meaningful change within their organisations.
We spoke with four of the programme’s graduates—Salma, Mohammad, Clare, and Basel —about their experiences.
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From Skills to Success: Concentrix’s Blueprint for Meaningful Youth Participation
Decent work has emerged as a key topic in conversations around sustainable development. While international organisations and civil society groups have long emphasised the importance of decent work for economic growth, the private sector has been more hesitant to embrace it. However, as the momentum behind the concept grows, more businesses begin to acknowledge the value of investing in job quality for resilient and productive workplaces. One of CFYE's partners in Kenya, Mr Green Africa, has made remarkable progress in achieving decent work within the informal economy.
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Enabling women in grain threshing: overcoming mechanisation challenges through flexible value-chain integration
Decent work has emerged as a key topic in conversations around sustainable development. While international organisations and civil society groups have long emphasised the importance of decent work for economic growth, the private sector has been more hesitant to embrace it. However, as the momentum behind the concept grows, more businesses begin to acknowledge the value of investing in job quality for resilient and productive workplaces. One of CFYE's partners in Kenya, Mr Green Africa, has made remarkable progress in achieving decent work within the informal economy.
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Learning materials
The Creative Sector and Youth Employment – Kenya
This paper is about how to leverage green jobs to realise the transition to a green economy. The first step to achieving this is to create a better understanding of green jobs. To this end, following a literature analysis, we provide a mapping tool to help classify green jobs and measure their (potential) impact. The tool is based on four indicators: (i) sector; (ii) green business strategy; (iii) climate action; and (iv) green skills.
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Green and Digital Technologies: Are They Really Transforming Youth Employment in Africa’s Agriculture?
This paper is about how to leverage green jobs to realise the transition to a green economy. The first step to achieving this is to create a better understanding of green jobs. To this end, following a literature analysis, we provide a mapping tool to help classify green jobs and measure their (potential) impact. The tool is based on four indicators: (i) sector; (ii) green business strategy; (iii) climate action; and (iv) green skills.
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Shortlist’s Forecasting Green Jobs in Africa Report
This paper is about how to leverage green jobs to realise the transition to a green economy. The first step to achieving this is to create a better understanding of green jobs. To this end, following a literature analysis, we provide a mapping tool to help classify green jobs and measure their (potential) impact. The tool is based on four indicators: (i) sector; (ii) green business strategy; (iii) climate action; and (iv) green skills.
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Future of work
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