The Mastercard Foundation Strategy to Promote and Expand Employment Opportunities for Young People in Africa

 The Youth Employment Challenge 

Africa is the youngest and fastest-growing continent in the world. By 2030, there will be 375 million young people in the job market in Africa. Within a few decades, this demographic boom will push Africa’s workforce to more than a billion people, the largest in the world.

While economic growth in many countries has been strong over the last 10 years, it has come with relatively few employment opportunities. According to the International Labour Organization, almost 80 percent of people in Africa work informally. Recent research undertaken by our Foundation in two countries in Africa found that among young people, very few had access to formal employment and most struggled to make a decent salary to live. When young people can secure formal work and a steady wage, their lives improve. Employment, particularly formal employment, is a leading pathway out of poverty for families. In Africa, the world’s youngest continent, youth employment is a particularly important measure of poverty reduction

This generation is healthier and better educated than their parents. Through technology, they have easier access to information, and consumer goods and services. The world they live in is more democratic. While the circumstances of their lives are measurably better than they were in the past, a significant gap between the number of young people seeking work and the limited employment opportunities available to them means that they will face challenges finding formal employment and a pathway out of poverty. Moreover, for some time, we’ve observed a mismatch between the skills of young people entering the workforce and the needs of employers. The youth employment challenge is daunting, but it is not insurmountable. 

THE MASTERCARD FOUNDATION RESPONSE 

We see the challenge of youth employment in Africa as an immense opportunity. Africa’s young people are innovative and energetic, and they are already creating solutions to the challenges they face. The time is right for the Foundation to focus on supporting them by driving systematic change in financial inclusion and education to increase youth employment and reduce poverty. That is why, by 2030, our goal is to enable 30 million young people, particularly women, to secure employment that they see as dignified and fulfilling. Our goal is part of our new strategy, Young Africa Works. Working toward it, we will