France launches 2-year Shs1.7 billion project for youth employability in Uganda

With the second youngest population in the world, Uganda faces a saturated labour market where the demand for jobs from young people entering exceeds the available supply. As of 2021, 40.7 per cent of youths are unemployed according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).

This problem is exacerbated by the lack of necessary training for the job market, among other factors, leaving entrees confined to low-paying jobs with few aspects for advancement.

It is against this background that the French embassy in Uganda and its partners, SHONA Agency for Rural Integrated Development, Eye Opener Initiative and Start Hub Africa, have launched this project which will support agile methodologies and innovative training to enable decent, sustainable and income-generating employability for Ugandan youths.

The project, which is worth Euros 429,966 (Shs 1.7 billion) and whose implementation started in March this year, will run until March 2025 targeting 550 young people to benefit from it.

It is focusing on three main sectors of agroforestry, agroecology and tourism.

While launching the project at his residence in Kampala, Xavier Sticker, the French Ambassador to Uganda, said the project reflects the long-term contributions by France to the sectors which can contribute to Uganda’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), as well as create sustainable jobs in the country for the young people.

"Many youths are coming into the job market every year, with 75 per cent of Uganda’s population being the youths. It is all the more important that we ensure that they have good initial training, which helps me to either get jobs or develop the capacity that helps them create their own businesses," Sticker said.

The project has three components:

Supporting agile methodologies and innovative training for the creation of sustainable and income-generating social enterprises in agroecology and agroforestry
Creating innovative training methodologies and tools focused on the market demand of the tourism and hospitality sector.
A sector of the future for Uganda and enabling better employability and integration into the labour market of youths and women in Uganda by promoting links between universities and businesses.

Each of the partner organisations will oversee the implementation of one of the components.

SHONA Agency for Rural Integrated Development is undertaking the participants in innovative training for the creation of sustainable income-generating social enterprises in agroecology and agroforestry.
Eye Opener Initiative will create innovative training methodologies and tools focused on the market demand of the tourism and hospitality sector.
Start Hub Africa is providing entrepreneurship, soft and innovation skills to university students in order to foster their potential and integration into the labour market.