Youth Invest

In Zimbabwe around 16.6% are currently unemployed. Moreover, only around 55% of Zimbabweans have access to a bank account (1). To increase the access of the young to the labour force and financial inclusion ‘Youth Invest’ offers a variety of training and development programmes for young Zimbabweans.

Based on the conviction that “youth are an integral part of community change because of their resourcefulness and dynamic competencies’’, Youth Invest works on the empowerment of young people in Victoria Falls and Bulawayo. 

In September 2019, Youth Invest started implementing her ‘Promoting Rural Tourism Entrepreneurship’ project. This project increases the employment rate and income for young artisans in Victoria Falls. So far 61 young artisans have received training through this project. This training focuses on story-telling, digital marketing and financial literacy. 

Moreover, an online and physical hub has been established where these artisans can sell their projects and services. Through these efforts the income for these entrepreneurs is expected to increase with 87%. These training efforts promote long-term and sustainable entrepreneurship and employment in the tourism sector and thus increase financial independence in the area.

Alongside this Youth Invest has provided 16 capacity-buildings training and workshops on financial inclusion for young Zimbabweans in Bulawayo. These programs promote the accessibility of financial services to marginalized socio-economic groups. Over 1,000 young people and women have benefitted from these programs so far, improving their access to the financial system and capital.

Sources:

(1) https://globalfindex.worldbank.org/