The African Development Bank (AfDB) has injected $20 million into youth employment in Sierra Leone.
The initiative is in line with the government of Sierra Leone’s program to create 500,000 new jobs for young people by 2030.
In Sierra Leone, the African Development Fund, the concessional window of the African Development Bank (AfDB), supports youth employment. It has approved a $19.95 million grant for an initiative to create livelihoods for Sierra Leonean women as well as young people.
The grant, under the first pillar of the Transition Support Facility, aims to address the root causes of fragility and insecurity in the West African country, according to a press release sent to APA on Wednesday.
The job creation project will target value chains where youth and women are more active, such as cassava farming and fishing. Specifically, it will focus on strengthening entrepreneurial skills in smart agriculture and waste management value chains, and improving access to finance for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), economic groups and cooperatives led by youth and women.
Expanding market access for youth- and women-led MSMEs and building institutional capacity to improve the business environment and service delivery to entrepreneurs are other areas of focus.
In addition, the Global Center for Adaptation will provide a grant of $159,600 for technical assistance in the development of adaptation strategies, including waste management strategies.
Ultimately, the project aims to create 9,200 jobs, strengthen the capacity of 3,500 youth and women to adapt to climate change, and increase the income of MSMEs by at least 10%.
This initiative is aligned with Sierra Leone’s BIG FIVE program and the National Medium Term Development Plan (2024-2030), which aims to create 500,000 new jobs for young people by 2030.
It also supports the African Development Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy (2024-2033) and its Country Strategy Paper (CSP 2020-2024) for Sierra Leone, the pan-African financial institution said.
ODL/ac/sf/lb/as/APA