The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has endorsed Sunday its newest job creation project: Jobs for Youth Employment to improve entrepreneurship skills of Egyptian youths. Earlier in May, President of the AfDB, Akinwunmi Adesina announced on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa the bank's job creation project for African youths, aimed at improved entrepreneurship skills of youths across the continent. Adesina said the employment scheme will give jobs to 25 million African youths over the next ten years (2016-2025) and the project was tagged jobs for African youth initiative. According to Leila Mokaddem, Resident Representative for Egypt at the AfDB, the bank had approved earlier by late April the project for Egypt, which will be carried out in cooperation with international financial institutions and NGOs. The first phase of the project aims to secure finances worth $247 million beside an additional sum of $200 million to be obtained from international financial institutions, Mokaddem said. Jobs for Youth Employment will target vital sectors in the country such as agricultural, industry, services, and technology, the AfDB official added. Jobs for Youth in Africa is an AfDB-wide strategy which will create 25 million jobs and positively impact 50 million youth over the next decade across Africa. To accomplish this goal, the Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy 2016-2025 aims to increase inclusive employment and entrepreneurship, strengthen human capital, and create durable labor market linkages by making use of three strategic intervention areas: Integration, Innovation, and Investment. The Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy 2016-2025 contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for Africa. It directly supports SDG8 on inclusive growth, productive employment and decent work for all, SDG4 on equitable education and skills development, and SDG1 on ending poverty. The Bank's work is anchored in the Bank's Ten Year Strategy (2013-2022), informed by the Human Capital Strategy (2014-2018), and supportive of the Bank's Five High-Priority Areas. It builds on insights from Bank-financed projects, lessons learned from the Joint Youth Employment Initiative for Africa, as well as the experiences and best practices of relevant initiatives led by actors outside the Bank.
