Promote Youth Entrepreneurship in Africa

Summary

TechnoServe is helping a pool of young, future entrepreneurs in Swaziland create successful businesses that will generate economic growth and employment in this poverty-stricken nation.

What is the issue, problem, or challenge?

The burden of turning around Swaziland’s economic fortunes rests on its youth. In Swaziland, 50% of the population is under the age of 19. Unemployment rates are nearly 50%. The dominant local export industries--textile, sugar cane, and mining--are declining due to global competition. Annually over 10,000 school leavers attempt to join the already-flooded labor market that can absorb less than 2,000 new entrants into the formal employment economy.

How will this project solve this problem?

TechnoServe is implementing a youth entrepreneurship program aimed at developing young people’s business skills. Currently we are piloting the program in secondary schools, and will eventually roll out the program to nearly 7500 students.

Potential Long Term Impact

TechnoServe’s youth entrepreneurship program will create an entrepreneurial culture among Swazi youth and will push students to seek further education and/or start a business.

Project Message

“The activity in business ethics teaches me more about life and how to live my life. These are things like honesty, responsibility. All these basics make human beings prosper in life”
- Student, Youth entrepreneurship program

Additional Documentation

This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).

Resources