This blog post was originally published by Making Cents International as part of their Future of Work blog series ahead of the Youth Economic Opportunities Summit. Youth unemployment is a huge issue in the developing world. According to the International Labour Organization, 71 million youth were estimated to be unemployed in 2016 and 37 percent of working…
Lauren Behr is a business strategist with 13 years of experience designing and implementing organizational systems that enable innovation and transformation. As senior advisor for Scaled Impact, she leads efforts and oversees standards for human-centered design, innovation, and scale on programs worldwide. She also manages partnerships and drives investment opportunities that increase Chemonics’ ability to…
In this blog series highlighting youth economic opportunity, Maram Khalil and Al’a Ghazi Hussain Essa reflect on their experience with Jordan BEST’s Pathways to Professionalism Program. Can you tell us about your career goals and experience as a young professional in Jordan? Maram Khalil: I am establishing my career in the hospitality industry and hope to…
Jordan’s tourism industry generates more than 14 percent of the country’s annual gross domestic product and is the greatest source of private sector employment in the country. To make the most of this economic opportunity, the USAID Economic Growth Through Sustainable Tourism Project (Siyaha) improved Jordan’s competitiveness as an international tourism destination. Building on the…
Although countries’ specific contexts influence their national policies, there are best practices for economic development from which all countries can learn. Drawing on best practices and lessons learned from USAID programming, the Asia and Middle East Economic Growth Best Practices (AMEG) project developed effective interventions that strengthened economic institutions and governance. In collaboration with USAID…
In Uganda, youth unemployment is growing: Each year, 400,000 youth enter the labor market and compete for only 80,000 formal jobs. 75 percent of the workforce and 55 percent of youth in Uganda are engaged in the agriculture sector, and Uganda is addressing youth unemployment, in part, by creating more opportunities for rural youth to…
The majority of Ugandans rely on farming for their incomes, but the country’s agriculture sector, dominated by smallholder farmers, has historically had low economic support and output. The purpose of the Feed the Future Uganda Commodity Production and Marketing Activity was to reduce poverty and promote the long-term prosperity of rural Ugandan families by increasing the…
Beyond enriching the lives of millions of visitors every year, the tourism sector plays a critical role in Jordan’s economy and requires structured support to achieve its full potential.
The Feed the Future Uganda Commodity Production and Marketing (CPM) activity began in 2013 and ran for five years. CPM works to increase productivity and income of rural families so they can lift themselves out of poverty and thrive. The activity harnesses market forces and uses innovative methods to increase the quantity and quality of coffee, maize, and beans that…
In this blog series highlighting youth economic opportunity, these young entrepreneurs reflect on their experience with youth-led private sector development. Can you tell us about your background working in youth development and your career goals? Gratian Nareeba: As an entrepreneur and a market systems development scholar, I am passionate about inclusive growth and market-driven social…
To bolster recent higher education reforms enacted by the Indonesian government and respond to the needs of the workforce, USAID/Indonesia launched the five-year Higher Education Leadership and Management project (HELM) in November 2011. Designed to improve the performance of Indonesia’s higher education system, HELM focused on four key management areas and five special initiatives across…
We are driven by our insistence that tomorrow’s world must be better than today’s, which is why our work with youth is central to our mission. With more than half of the world’s population under 30 years of age, it is critical that we empower young people to serve as tomorrow’s leaders. We see youth…