This report is the key output of the 2007 Global Youth Microenterprise Conference.
The specific objectives of the publication are to:
- highlight the importance of youth economic initiatives;
- provide insight into promising practices on youth livelihood development, which encompasses
employment preparation as well as enterprise creation and development; - demonstrate the wide spectrum of stakeholders, sectors and approaches involved;
- contribute to consensus building on the need for standardized indicators and improved monitoring and evaluation;
- begin to identify opportunities for scaling up and replication of successful approaches;
- extract some of the challenges members of all sectors are facing on this issue; and
- raise awareness on the need to invest in youth livelihood opportunities as part of socio-economic development efforts. Ultimately, this publication aims to support efforts to increase the number of youth in the workforce, particularly through self-employment, and the ability of youth livelihood programming to achieve greater impact and sustainability.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| MakingCentsInternationalYouthEnterpriseLivelihoodsPublication_02_11_08vF.pdf | 2.26 MB |
The Umsobomvu Youth Fund is a government agency tasked with supporting the growth and development of youth in South Africa, including improved livelihoods through employment and self-employment. UYF commissioned this paper on best practices, drawing on lessons from leading organizations in Africa, to accelerate the learning process and facilitate informed decisions by UYF staff on the best way to move the organization’s microfinance initiative forward.
This paper divides the discussion of best practices into three parts:
- Microenterprise Lending Methodologies,
- Management Sustainability, and
- Financial Sustainability,
and presents case studies of successful microfinance institutions.
YouthInvest will build on the experience MEDA has gained in youth and microfinance since 2002.
The goals of the project are:
- To support microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing savings and credit products to strengthen the capacity of youth-run enterprises in Egypt and Morocco
- To assess and improve safety conditions in the workplace
- To support improved education and training opportunities for youth to ensure improved long-term prospects and to contribute to a higher quality workforce.
MFIs will be the primary points of contact with youth clients, delivering financial and non-financial services to young entrepreneurs and enterprises employing youth. MFI staff will be trained in these interventions, and will in turn deliver them to working youth and business owners as appropriate.
Workforce readiness training will be delivered by specialist youth-serving organisations; MFIs could
potentially provide linkage support to trained youth, by connecting them to high-growth clients. Within five years, YouthInvest will directly touch the lives of over 50,000 young people - connecting them with innovative financial products and services that will build their economic prosperity, improve their working lives, enhance their workplace safety, and lead to a better quality of life for their families and themselves.
Jennifer Denomy, Project Manager
jdenomy@meda.org
September 2008 to 2013
YouthInvest will build on the experience MEDA has gained in youth and microfinance since 2002.
The goals of the project are:
- To support microfinance institutions (MFIs) in developing savings and credit products to strengthen the capacity of youth-run enterprises in Egypt and Morocco
- To assess and improve safety conditions in the workplace
- To support improved education and training opportunities for youth to ensure improved long-term prospects and to contribute to a higher quality workforce.
MFIs will be the primary points of contact with youth clients, delivering financial and non-financial services to young entrepreneurs and enterprises employing youth. MFI staff will be trained in these interventions, and will in turn deliver them to working youth and business owners as appropriate.
Workforce readiness training will be delivered by specialist youth-serving organisations; MFIs could
potentially provide linkage support to trained youth, by connecting them to high-growth clients. Within five years, YouthInvest will directly touch the lives of over 50,000 young people - connecting them with innovative financial products and services that will build their economic prosperity, improve their working lives, enhance their workplace safety, and lead to a better quality of life for their families and themselves.
Jennifer Denomy, Project Manager
jdenomy@meda.org
September 2008 to 2013
