PEP will share evidence-based solutions for youth employment in Africa at the 8th KIPPRA Conference, highlighting inclusive strategies from 10 countries.
MEDIA BACKGROUNDER
Nairobi, Kenya — A joint session titled "What Works for Youth Employment in Africa" will be co-presented by the Partnership for Economic Policy (PEP) during the 8th KIPPRA Annual Regional Conference, which will take place in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 21–23, 2025. With the theme "Shaping Pathways to Future Jobs: Unlocking Opportunities for Youth," the conference will bring together regional stakeholders who are dedicated to ensuring dignified and fulfilling work for young people in Africa.
The day one conference proceedings will concentrate on locally relevant, evidence-based solutions to generate dignified and fulfilling work for African youth, particularly for young women and other marginalized groups, including young persons with disabilities, the internally displaced, and refugees. Titled “What Works for Youth Employment in Africa”, the PEP session will bring together young people, researchers, and policymakers to discuss evidence-based strategies for improving youth employment outcomes across Africa. It will highlight research findings from Kenya, Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Uganda, which were part of a larger research program supported by PEP in 10 African countries that reviewed existing youth employment policies, programs and their impact.
A presentation on the findings will be followed by an open question-and-answer session to foster dialogue on effective and actionable next steps. The session will include more than 90 participants, 45 of whom will be young researchers and young people from underrepresented communities who contributed their voices to the study. The session is targeted at a broad audience, including youth from vocational training centers (TVETs) and universities, young entrepreneurs, innovators, and representatives from the government, civil society, and the private sector. In line with the conference’s goal of “Shaping Pathways to Future Jobs,” the session will integrate the voices of 45 young contributors and amplify their perspectives in shaping inclusive employment policies to ultimately ensure dignified and fulfilling work for the youth of Africa.
The session will highlight key calls to action and early policy impacts from the four featured countries: Kenya, Rwanda, Uganda and Ethiopia. The discussion will focus on key findings and aims to stimulate conversations between stakeholders and policymakers and move forward on the action areas. For instance, in Kenya, the findings were incorporated into the third-generation County Integrated
Development Plans (2023/24-2027/28) to inform the development plans of 47 counties, which aim to create better-quality jobs and accelerate work opportunities. They were also assimilated by the State Department of Youth Affairs to inform general policy design and implementation. In Uganda, the findings informed the drafting of the Start-Up Bill and Domestic Employment Bill and the updating of the National Employment Policy, Employment Strategy, and Youth Livelihood Programme. The findings to be shared by PEP in its session will draw on a broader three-year initiative on “What Works for Youth Employment in Africa,” implemented by local researchers in 10 African countries. The initiative responds to a significant gap between the number of young people seeking work and the limited opportunities available to them. The review of existing youth employment policies, programs and their impact identified best practices for tackling the employment challenge for youth, especially young women and other marginalized groups, for potential replication across countries. Through a mixed-methods approach and employing PEP’s research co-production model, through which local researchers worked in close consultation with government officials, civil society actors, youth organizations and others, the program successfully co-defined priorities and co-produced knowledge tailored to each country’s context. The research contributed to realizing the Mastercard Foundation’s goal of enabling 30 million young Africans, particularly women and other marginalized groups, to secure dignified and fulfilling work by 2030, as part of its Young Africa Works strategy.
The evidence to be presented will focus on important areas of action to promote opportunities for dignified and fulfilling work for youth throughout the continent. These include:
- Centralized Coordination: Strengthening the management of youth employment programs under a unified framework to enhance efficiency, reduce duplication, and improve impact.
- Holistic Program Design: Creating integrated strategies that span education, training, entrepreneurship, and employment.
- Entrepreneurship Support: Scaling financial and technical support to empower youth-led enterprises.
- TVET and Skills Certification: Expanding quality, market-aligned training opportunities to meet evolving workforce demands.
- Sustainable Financing: Encouraging diversified funding partnerships, including private sector and philanthropic investments, to ensure long-term program sustainability.
For more information, please contact:
info@pep-net.org
