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
From Fashion Statement to the Green Movement: How Ameni Mansouri is Driving Circular Change with Dabchy
For Ameni Mansouri, entrepreneurship is not just about business – it is a vehicle for purpose. A biomedical engineer by training and a fashion enthusiast at heart, Amani took a bold leap from the lab into the startup world with one clear goal: to build a smarter, more sustainable future. Today, she’s the co-founder and CEO of Dabchy, a circular lifestyle platform that empowers thousands across Tunisia and Egypt to buy, sell, and connect sustainably.
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When You Grow Your People, You Grow Your Impact: How CFYE Enables Future-Focused Talent in Building Meaningful Careers
For many young professionals, stepping beyond familiar borders in pursuit of growth is more than a career move – it requires determination. For Anurika Nwoke and Juliana Beltran, two dedicated Project and MEL Associates at CFYE, that determination took them across continents to the Netherlands where they embraced new academic and professional frontiers. Navigating cultural shifts, rigorous learning environments, and moments of personal transformation, both young women emerged with fresh perspectives and a renewed sense of purpose. Their journeys are a testament to the power of inclusive opportunities and the kind of transformation that unfolds when people who believe in positive change are supported and given the opportunity to grow – both professionally and personally.
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Online Care, Offline Impact: Fatima Ibrahim’s Journey of Delivering Care Beyond Physical Boarders
Fatima Ibrahim, 31, knows what it means to support people through their most vulnerable moments. As a nurse with over six years of experience across various medical fields, such as paediatric care, surgery, obstetrics, gynaecology, IVF, and internal medicine, helping others is close to her heart. But what motivates her on a more personal level, is her mother.
“My mother has suffered from diabetes for a long time,” Fatima reveals. “As for me, not only did I learn to help patients, but I also learned how to help my mother.”
Fatima and her mom are not alone in this. Diabetes is a chronic disease affecting up to 15% of Egyptians causing major health issues, especially if poorly managed. In the Egyptian healthcare sector, there is a lack of formal structure that would guide diabetic patients through their journey. Besides that, people often lack awareness about the illness and are left undiagnosed or untreated until severe irreversible damages occur. Through CFYE funding, the Al Mouneer powered Dru app is not only tackling these issues in the healthcare sector, but is also empowering young people, such as Fatima, with decent employment opportunities.
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Case studies
INCLUSION APPROACHES TO CREATING, MATCHING, AND IMPROVING JOBS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: A CASE STUDY OF LIGHT FOR THE WORLD
People with disabilities (PwDs) face discrimination at multiple levels—in society, their workplace, and sometimes within their household. Negative attitudes are prevalent among family members and PwDs themselves, mostly due to a lack of awareness or education about disability, or implicit bias and stereotypes about their actual or potential skills.
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INCLUSION APPROACHES TO CREATING, MATCHING, AND IMPROVING JOBS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: A CASE STUDY OF ECO BRIXS
People with disabilities (PwDs) face discrimination at multiple levels—in society, their workplace, and sometimes within their household. Negative attitudes are prevalent among family members and PwDs themselves, mostly due to a lack of awareness or education about disability, or implicit bias and stereotypes about their actual or potential skills.
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When Young Girls Dream Big: Nkem Okocha Supporting Communities Through Mamamoni
When Nkem Okocha, founder and CEO of Mamamoni, was just a young girl, she tragically lost her father. Suddenly, she watched her mother struggle to provide for the family, with no formal education and no access to capital. "In Nigeria, there are no safety nets," Nkem explains. Her mother was fortunate to receive a small amount of money, which she used to start a business, ensuring that her children could go to school. But as Nkem grew older, she realised her family's story was not unique. She saw women all around her community facing the same hardship. It was then that she made a promise to herself: once she had the means, she would help women like her mother gain financial independence. That promise became the foundation of Mamamoni.
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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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