Youth to Youth Fund

The Youth Employment Network (YEN), a product of a partnership between the International Labor Organization, the World Bank and the United Nations, has a Youth to Youth Fund dedicated to providing resources to young entrepreneurial adults.

The YEN mission statement (from YEN website):
"YEN works to engage, educate and motivate actors to provide improved employment opportunities for youth. It is a platform and service provider focusing on policy advice, innovative pilot projects, knowledge sharing, and brokering partnerships. YEN makes use of its core agency partners’ know how and resources and ensures youth participation in delivering its services."

The Youth to Youth Fund goals (extract from website):
"The Youth-to-Youth Fund supports innovative youth-led (15-35 years) employment projects in the 4 Mano River Union (MRU) countries (Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone) and East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda). In difference to other programs, the youth themselves will be asked to submit proposals. The major outcome is the identification and support of small scale innovative ideas at the grass-roots level in youth employment. The Fund uses an open, transparent, and competitive process ensuring local ownership."

Eligibility to apply to the Youth to Youth Fund:

• For official registered organizations in above listed target countries
• Must be led by youth (ie: Board and/or management committee must be youth - 15 to 35 years)
• Main purpose of organization must be youth employment creation
• Proposals must be from organizations, not individuals
• One application per organization
• Grants are awarded in following focus areas: Community projects and services; Youth entrepreneurship; Transition from school to work; Vocational training; Sport and youth employment.
  

Read more:
About YEN
Youth to Youth Fund homepage

Computers, Business and Optimism in Uganda

Computers and the Internet are becoming more accessible in Uganda.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard have partnered up to raise the bar in the IT sector.

According to a BizCommunity.com article, "the partnership has made laptops, complete with a one-year warranty, available to Ugandans for US$175".

Support is also available: People can bring their laptops to Business Information Centers, specifically catering to rural IT needs, which offer maintenance and space to cultivate entrepreneurship in technology.

In addition, UNIDO has been able to implement a Graduate Entrepreneurship Training through IT (GET-IT) program for youth. Through GET-IT, which is active in 28 locations globally, students are trained on how to use the Internet to pursue entrepreneurial projects.

Read more:
BizCommunity.com article
GET-IT homepage

Ikotoilets and Public Health in East Africa

A new breed of social entrepreneurship is sweeping the East African coast. Ecotact - a Kenyan private market-based organization working towards improving sustainable environmental sanitation - announced The Ikotoilet project at the Clinton Global Initiative this week.

The Ikotoilet project focuses on providing:

- Low-flush toilets in both the ladies and gents toilets
- Waterless urinals in gent’s toilets
- Shower facilities
- Water saving taps and soap dispensers
- Dry toilet system - a facility for urine harvesting and water conservation
- A free-of-charge toilet for the disabled
- Tanks for rain water harvesting.
- A changing area for babies
- Sanitary bins
- Full length mirror
- Music
- Snack shop
- Shoe shine vendor

(Source: About Ikotoilet webpage)

In doing so, the Ikotoilet initiative is trying to positively transform the public approach to maintaining a healthy living, while creating jobs and investing in social entrepreneurship activities. The project will begin implementation in Kenya and Zanzibar, and is set to scale up into greater Tanzania and Uganda in coming months in partnership with entrepreneurial youth.

The Ikotoilet project is based on Kenyan entrepreneur David Kuria's ideas for increasing the urban poor's access to high quality sanitation, a basic but important need in East Africa, while still involving them in a self-improvement process.

Read more:
SOAworld Magazine article
David Kuria's idea on Ashoka's website
Ecotact website
Clinton Global Initiative website

BOOST Fellowship introduced to East Africa youth

Building Opportunities on Student Talent (BOOST) Fellowship, based out of Zimbabwe, has opened up it's application process for youth in East Africa. It is collaborating with the Inter-region Economic Network (IREN) to bring entrepreneurial guidance and resources to Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya.

The coordinator of the program, Judith Grace Auma, mentioned: "The programme is designed to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurial innovators, financial and managerial leaders to help shape a successful future for their respective countries and continent."

Lena Zamchiya, CEO of Zimbabwe-based BOOST Fellowship, sees the efforts of BOOST as a means to help youth become more productive in the private market: "Under the social enterprise, we train the students to be able to identify social issues within their communities with a view of starting private enterprises based on the needs they met."

Read more here:
AllAfrica.com - "East Africa: IREN to Empower Young Entrepreneurs"
AfricanExecutive.com - "BOOST Fellowship Brightens Future for the Youth"