YOUTH CONNEKT AFRICA

CONNECTING YOUTH FOR

CONTINENTAL TRANSFORMATION

NOVEMBER

2018

Presented by YCA Zimbabwe Delegation

 AFRICA STARTS WITH ME

What is the Youth Connekt Program

The YouthConnekt program is a multifaceted youth empowerment model

focused on leveraging youth employability, entrepreneurship and civic

Africa engagement through innovation. YouthConnekt Africa is a socio-economic

transformation movement and conduit that aims to empower at least 1.2 million
African youth entrepreneurs and leaders annually.

Starts The YouthConnekt Africa Summit is an annual convening that connects youth

with Me
from across the continent with policy influencers, program leaders, private sector,
non-governmental institutions to formulate youth empowerment implementation
strategy through strategic partnerships.

The 2018 edition was hosted by the Government of Rwanda in partnership with the African Development Bank
(AfDB), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Union Commission. The 2018
YouthConnekt Africa Summit provided a platform for all partners involved in youth development to synergize
around policies, programs and partnerships that will connect youth for continental transformation.

Held in Kigali, the capital city of the Republic of Rwanda, the 2018 YouthConnekt Summit offered, over three
days, a series of informative high-level dialogues, inaugurated by a presidential panel engaging youth on their
role in Africa’s transformation. The summit also provided a diversity of experience ranging from the jobconnekt
master classes and gigkorner employer meetups; the connekted girls sessions addressing closing the gender
gap in empowering young women
 AFRICA STARTS WITH ME

Progress Report
The Youth Connekt Summit was launched in July 2017
and was held in Kigali Rwanda. The summit in 2017
adopted of 3 main recommendations:
1) Scaling up of the YouthConnekt initiative to the
regional level beyond the current 6 countries.
2) The establishment of a YouthConnekt Africa Hub based
in Kigali-Rwanda and offering regional support to national
youth programs.
3) The establishment of a YouthConnekt Empowerment
Fund, which will seek to finance youth empowerment
initiatives across the continent

Youth Connekt has spurred

1. the creation of 6,000 jobs for youth.
2. more than 4 million young men and women have been
engaged in positive values programmes through physical
and digital platforms.
3. more than 18,000 youth have been directly engaged in
national policy dialogues.

"Success finds you when you are prepared to do the hard work" - Dr Naomi
Makau (YCA2018 Plenary session)

4. More than 1 million youth have been

involved in civic engagement activities
within their communities
5. 540 youth equipped with the
entrepreneurial and social innovation
skills
6. 6 countries have launched
the YCA program and an additional 8
countries are in the process of joining the
program
7. in 2018 at the 2nd edition of the
summit the Youth Connekt Africa hub and
the Youth Connekt Innovation &
Empowerment Fund were launched
 AFRICA STARTS WITH ME

Youth Connekt Africa Hub Goals

JOBS & ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Create 10 million jobs by 2020 in sustainable job
environments in emerging industries.
EDUCATION / SKILLS
Create 25 million opportunities through training &
enrolment in workplaces.
CIVIC PARTICIPATION & LEADERSHIP
Identify, nurture & grow 1 million leaders that provide
solutions, participate in advocacy & become role models
in their communities.
GENDER
Develop sustainable initiatives & policies that reduce
gender inequality in education, jobs, technology &
leadership.
TECHNOLOGY & INNOVATION
Form a 'hub of hubs' to connect incubation hubs across
the continent and provide access to markets, innovation-
friendly capital from partners, and partnership
opportunities with peers across the continent. nurture
5,000 digital ambassadors in each country to help connect
& digitally empower 100,000,000 africans, allowing skills
to be transferred to their local communities.

YouthConnekt Africa Hub

The YouthConnekt Africa Hub will nurture and strengthen a
"Africa needs every human being to
regional networks of youth empowerment experts and
push for their dream"
hubs. It will serve as a coordination entity to connect and
- Alatorera Uniru (YCA2018 Plenary Session) promote existing youth empowerment initiatives at the
continental level. This will be achieved through
● Exchange of best practices between YouthConnekt
national programmes
● Seeking South-South synergies between successful
youth empowerment initiatives
● Nurturing of a regional network of youth empowerment
experts and hubs in Africa
● Continental communication about the YouthConnekt
initiatives
● Providing resource mobilization and partnership support
to YC national programmes
● Connecting national YouthConnekt innovators with
regional and global mentors
● Facilitation of the Youth for Africa and SDGs platform
● Supporting youth volunteering platforms across Africa
 AFRICA STARTS WITH ME

Next Steps: Zimbabwe becoming a member

"Sell your vision to anyone who will listen. Do not expect the best from the start, but
continue to work towards it" - Lionel Mtizi (YCA2018 Panel Discussion)
YouthConnekt is a practical, concrete and most This is How we can start the process:
effective way to tackle the current unemployment
situation in the continent. It empowers the Youth 1.Send an expression of interest addressed to
to be potent actors and driving vectors in the the Rwanda Ministry of Youth and copied to
implementation of Agenda 2030. UNDP .
2.The Government and youth ministry should
With YouthConnekt Africa, the continent has a exhibit
proper framework to invest in and empower youth a. Track record of promoting youth
nationally; challenge businesses to provide young empowerment policies and creating youth
people with skills and opportunities; and friendly ecosystem
b. Commitment to promote and implement
transform the continent.
Youth Connekt Africa initiatives in home
country
Zimbabwe will realize significant benefits from
c. Commitments to adhere to Youth
becoming an implementing country and
Connekt Africa guiding principles
YouthConnekt Africa will compliment the
country's efforts to becoming a middle income
country by 2030.