The Rockefeller Foundation has today announced a new Foundation initiative that will focus on Africa’s youth and employment, Digital Jobs Africa (DJA). This is a nearly $100 million investment which will impact one million people in Africa through jobs and skills for youth in the information communication technology (ICT) sector who would not otherwise have an opportunity for sustainable employment.
The DJA builds on three years of the Foundation’s existing work and will focus on high potential youth who lack access to jobs and economic opportunities. The initiative, led out of the Foundation’s Africa Regional office in Nairobi, Kenya, will continue on for the next 7 years and leverage significant funds and support from other stakeholders.
The announcement has just been made by Dr Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation at the World Economic Forum meeting in Cape Town, South Africa. South Africa is one of the six focus countries of the initiative. The others are Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Morocco and Egypt.
The country selection was based on high levels of youth unemployment, the growth of their ICT-enabled sectors, including the existing level of governmental support and the potential to create significant numbers of jobs within the sector.
