Boosting decent jobs and enhancing skills for youth in Africa’s digital economy

This joint programme aims to increase the number of young Africans in every country who access decent work in the digital economy. For the implementation of the programme, ITU and ILO aim to raise funds for sub-projects in six selected countries in Africa (Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and South Africa). The programme provides the opportunity to engage ITU and ILO current partners from governments, social partners, the private sector, civil society, academia, and other multilateral institutions and development banks. New partnerships will be established to create additional skills development and employment opportunities for youth across the region. Interventions will build on programmes that these organizations already have in place in order to complement and further enhance the delivery scope and capacity of the programme.

Africa’s growing youth population and the continent’s transition to the digital economy represent a huge opportunity to bolster African economies while addressing the important levels of unemployment and working poverty among young people. Project 2RAF20091 proposes to leverage growing digital markets in six African countries for decent jobs for youth.

ITU, together with ILO, aims at enabling young Africans to access decent work in the digital economy through a holistic system-level approach that boosts job creation and entrepreneurship opportunities in the digital economy while promoting the respect for youth labour rights, invests in digital capacities and skills for youth, and improves the labour market intermediation mechanism of employment services. Across all levels, the programme will gather novel data and research in order to contribute rigorous evidence to boost youth employment in Africa's digital economy.