The Mastercard Foundation has announced a ten-year, $200 million commitment in support of efforts to expand job opportunities for Ugandan youth.
The funding will launch the foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy in Uganda, with a focus on three sectors: agriculture, tourism and hospitality, and construction and housing. With the goal of helping more than three million young Ugandans secure work that is dignified and fulfilling by 2030, the initiative will work to commercialize agri-food systems and agribusinesses ; strengthen the country’s growing tourism and hospitality sector; and leverage public and private investment in the construction sector by improving vocational training and expanding access to financial services for micro-, small, and midsize businesses (SMEs).
Organizations partnering with the foundation on the initiative include Innovation Village, Gudie Leisure Farm, GOAL Uganda, the National Social Security Fund, and Equity Bank Uganda. The foundation has already launched Young Africa Works initiatives in Ghana and Rwanda.
“We have formed partnerships with a number of organizations, and together, if we are successful, they already represent 30 percent of the goal of having thirty million people in dignified and fulfilling work,” said Mastercard Foundation president and CEO Reeta Roy. “What’s special is how our partners have come together to intentionally collaborate and leverage each other’s strengths.”
Source: PND
