AfDB pushes for youths’ jobs and start-ups in Africa in association with Seedstars World

The African Development Bank has announced strategic partnership with a Swiss-based start-up Seedstars World recently. The aim of this tie-up is to implement its innovative 'job creation track' model to support youth employment and entrepreneurship in Africa.

The exclusive tie-up between African Development Bank (AfDB) and Seedstars World is in line with AfDB's entrepreneurship and innovation lab under its Jobs for Youth in Africa strategy. The objective is to create 25 million jobs and equip 50 million young people with skills to enhance their employability and entrepreneurial success by 2025. The strategy will support countries to stimulate entrepreneurship, youth employment and economic development with a focus on young women.

Seedstars World is set to add the criterion "the potential for job creation" in selecting the local competition winners. The AfDB will select and award the start-up demonstrating the most potential for sustainable job creation with three months' access to the Seedstars investment readiness program. The AfDB will also be the main partner for the remaining local bootcamps, as well as a two-day private bootcamp during the Seedstars Africa Summit set to take place between December 2 and 5, 2019 with an emphasis on improving gender balance across all activities.

As a catalyst for the best business and investment opportunities in the region, the Summit will bring together its network of start-ups, investors, mentors, ambassadors, partners and over 300 key stakeholders across the continent.

"This is a spectacular initiative which will jump-start Africa's encouragement of youth involvement in business enterprise and job creation. This partnership between the Bank and Seedstars World is an electrifying component of the Bank's continuing commitment to sustainable job creation for women and young people across the continent," Tapera Jeffrey Muzira, Jobs for Youth in Africa Coordinator, opined.