Browsing: Youth unemployment

• Seedstars Capital represents an alternative investment platform focused on supporting emerging fund managers and investing in technology companies in emerging and frontier markets.
• Fondation Botnar is a Swiss philanthropic foundation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of young people living in urban areas worldwide.
• The partnership reflects their shared commitment to fostering positive impact through strategic investment.

Switzerland-based investment platforms– Seedstars Capital and Fondation Botnar have launched the Seedstars Youth Wellbeing Ventures mandate targeting Africa. Consequently, they intend to invest $20 million in early-stage, purpose-driven companies. These companies will help improve the well-being of young people in low- and middle-income countries across the continent.

Seedstars Capital represents an alternative investment platform. The platform supports emerging fund managers and invests in technology companies in emerging and frontier markets. Moreover, Fondation Botnar is a Swiss philanthropic foundation dedicated to improving the health and well-being of young people living in urban areas…

Over the past decade, addressing the three pressing needs of the youth—education, engagement, and livelihoods—has become a central tenet of global and continental policy discussions. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) consider youth as essential partners for achieving inclusive and peaceful societies.

Africans of all ages seem to understand that if the youth are suffering and unable to establish productive livelihoods, it becomes a societal problem. As such, many agree that there is a need for intervention from the government and other stakeholders in addressing the challenge of youth unemployment in Africa.…

The gig economy has been the norm in Kenya for decades given that the economy is largely defined by a large informal sector which accounts for 83.6 percent of the working population, employing 14.9 million workers. The online gig economy in Kenya operates across several sectors, including transport services, personal and household services, business services, delivery services, professional services, hospitality and medical care.
Agriculture, manufacturing, construction, trade, hospitality, transport and communications and community, social and personal services are the top sectors that account for these workers.…

South Africa’s unemployment soars have risen to levels last seen in 2008. According to the country’s National Statistics Agency, 30.8% of South Africans are now unemployed. This figure is the highest the country has experienced since 2008.

The statistics are mainly caused by the effects of COVID-19 on the economy. The southern African country, one of the most industrialized in Africa, was among the first to record a case of COVID-19 on the continent. It is also one of the most heavily affected countries in Africa.

In response to the pandemic

the government instituted a raft of measures to flatten the infection curve. The covid response involved a total lockdown which halted economic activity, affecting revenue for the industry and other productive sectors of the economy. 

The lockdown hit businesses severely, prompting restructuring which has seen many employees losing their jobs. In addition, several SMEs will not survive the situation. …