The African Development Bank, together with partners – The Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft and Facebook – launched the Coding for Employment Program to help Ugandan and other African youth gain employment.
“By training youth in demand-driven Information and Communications Technology (ICT) curriculum and matching graduates directly with ICT employers, this new Program prepares Africa’s youth for tomorrow’s jobs and unleashes the next generation of young digital innovators from the continent. Coding for Employment will create over 9 million jobs and reach 32 million youth and women across Africa,” AfDB says in the latest press statement.
According to the statement, The Coding for Employment Program aims to put Africa’s youth on a path to prosperity. By 2025, the Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative will equip 50 million youth with employable skills and create 25 million jobs in agriculture, information communications and technology and other key industries across Africa, the statement reads in part
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Over the last 15 years, the African Development Bank says has invested US $1.64 billion in programs to prepare youth for careers in science, technology and innovation.
The Bank says that putting youth at the center of Africa’s inclusive economic growth agenda is at the forefront of its investments and its “High 5s” priorities —building businesses, feeding the continent, expanding power and integration, and improving the quality of life for the people across the continent by preparing youth for today’s competitive digital world.
The Bank notes that as the world moves towards a fourth industrial revolution, the demand for digitization across health, education, and other sectors is on the rise. Digital innovations have the power to solve the continent’s development challenges and are generating new job opportunities, it says.
“The youth population is rapidly growing and by 2050, is expected to double to over 830 million. Yet, the digital divide in Africa persists and critical skills gaps pose serious challenges to youth securing quality and decent work in a rapidly changing workforce,” it says.
The partnership with will establish 130 Centers of Excellence across Africa to help bridge the gap between the digital hiring news of employers and the skills of Africa’s youth,” said Mamadou Biteye, OBE, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Managing Director for Africa.
According to Ghada Khalifa, Director of Microsoft Philanthropies for the Middle East and Africa, “Digital skills are fast becoming essential for the jobs of today and tomorrow. Unfortunately, these skills are beyond the reach of too many young people in Africa. Together with our partners like the African Development Bank, we are working to change that. The partnership between Microsoft and the African Development Bank will continue to focus on increasing the participation of underserved youth and women while equipping youth across Africa with the skills needed to fill jobs now and in the future,” she said.
“Coding for Employment ensures digital skills are accessible to young people and supports youth with securing meaningful opportunities where they can apply their talents, ideas and expertise to advance the continent’s economic and social development,” said Sherry Dzinoreva, Head of Policy Programs at Facebook.
“By working together with the private sector, donors, policy-makers, and other stakeholders, we can secure a brighter future for young African women and men. As part of this new Program, we seek to cultivate the next generation of innovators and to empower young women to lead the continent’s digital revolution” said Oley Dibba-Wadda, Director of Human Capital, Youth and Skills Development at the African Development Bank.
He said that investments in youth through programs like Coding for Employment can stimulate inclusive economic growth, put Africa and its youth on the cutting edge of technological innovations and ensure the digital transformation of the continent is led and managed by young Africans for the benefit of the people of Africa.
