ImpactFuel - The CFYE Update
Challenge Fund for Youth Employment
Supporting initiatives to create a prosperous future for young women and men in the Middle East and Africa
Dear LinkedIn Community,
October was a special and very dense month for the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment and we are excited to share what our global team has accomplished and prepared for you this month!
In case you missed our new content, this newsletter will put together all the impact, knowledge and trends we have gathered and shared this month. On top of our usual insights, events, impact stories and learning publications, we took some time to reflect all together about what we accomplished so far (spoiler: we reached a huge milestone, more details below!) and how we will continue enabling innovative businesses to create, match, or improve job opportunities for young women and men.
Every month, we are committed to showing you how CFYE is not merely a program, but a catalyst for change. Beyond the numerical aspects, this newsletter will shine light on our program milestones and the broader implications of our partnerships in the MENA Region and Sub Saharan Africa.
Enjoy your reading!
?CFYE is celebrating 100,000 jobs created, matched and improved!??
As the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment project celebrates its five years anniversary, onboards new Implementing Partners from the last call for applications, and concludes their Annual Team Retreat, another monumental milestone adds to the list: the creation, matching, and improvement of 100,000 jobs! ? ?
In 2019, CFYE started its journey creating decent, meaningful, employment opportunities for 230,000 youth across the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel/West Africa and the Horn of Africa. Together, with our dedicated team and implementing partners, we've worked endlessly to empower youth, foster innovative ways in approaching youth unemployment, and drive sustainable economic growth in over 11 countries.
Five years later, the Utrecht office welcomed the whole Team for its Annual Retreat, an occasion to reconnect, visualise the progress made so far, and brainstorm on the next 18 months of impactful initiatives and activities. The retreat reinforced the importance of working together towards a common goal and reminded us that our collective efforts are greater than the sum of our individual contributions.?Our main takeaway? Our flexibility is our strength, and never underestimate the transformative power of humans behind job creation projects.?Here's to the next 130.000 jobs!
?? Check the LI article to see how we did it! Catalysing Collaboration for Impact: the power of humans beyond job creation | LinkedIn
What's new:
?? Catalysing Success: CFYE’s Mentorship Blueprint to Unlock Partner Potential
In partnership with VC4A, and as part as our Technical Assistance offering, CFYE launched a mentorship pilot designed to match senior business mentors with our implementing partners to provide expertise in areas critical to business growth. By bridging the gap between SMEs and seasoned mentors, this activity not only enhanced the capabilities of businesses like Ahmed, from 249Startups Josh, from Balloon Ventures and Yetunde, from Yetroselane Fashion Hub but also contributing to a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem across Africa and beyond.
Curious to hear how it went? Read the full article ?? Catalysing Success: CFYE’s Mentorship Blueprint to Unlock Partner Potential - Challenge Fund for Youth Employment
?? New Case Study: CFYE's Gender Technical Assistance
??In the heart of Ethiopia, CAMS Engineering is breaking new ground in gender inclusion with the technical and financial support of the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment.
Founded with the mission to modernise agricultural practices, CAMS is addressing the country’s agricultural challenges through innovation and technology. To address gender-related challenges, CFYE offered gender technical assistance (TA) and helped CAMS develop inclusive gender processes.
Through Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) training, both women and men mapped out roles and responsibilities, promoting gender equality within and beyond the workplace. This collaborative effort has led to significant community impact, promoting equality and offering women the chance to grow both professionally and personally.
?? Read the full article at the link: Enabling women in grain threshing: overcoming mechanisation challenges through flexible value-chain integration - Challenge Fund for Youth Employment
?? New Impact Story!
Marwa, a determined entrepreneur from Egypt, was at a loss on how to turn her poultry business into a thriving enterprise, facing several financial struggles and gender barriers. With the help of Cash for microfinance - ??? ??????? ?????? ?????, she joined the CFYE-supported Under Privileged Entrepreneurs Reach project.
Check the article to learn how small business loans are becoming crucial for empowering women entrepreneurs!
?? How important is to adopt participatory processes for data collection, analysis and research?
Youth-centered methodologies are approaches to research, education, and programming that prioritize the voices, experiences, and needs of young people. In our latest research in Ethiopia, we set out to uncover how to attract youth to the country's abundant agricultural sector and influence negative perceptions, and used this methodology to guide our research process.
Partnering with VSO youth experts, we held a three-day workshop focused on using digital tools to transform perceptions of the agricultural sector. Following the workshop, these youth experts strategised their sampling procedures, conducted focus group discussions, interviews, and surveys as part of the pilot phase of this youth-led research.
Meet the youth experts below and find out more about their research journey here??? https://www.dhirubhai.net/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7249301254252687360
?? Stay tuned for the release of our Toolkit, a resource designed to equip stakeholders with the tools and strategies needed to effectively engage young people in their research processes!
This month we also hosted many successful learning, closing and celebratory events, check our LinkedIn page if you don't want to miss them out, and to find even more interesting reads and updates, and share this with your network. Don't miss out on the latest happenings by sharing, commenting, and recommending our newsletter to your network, and stay tuned for more!
Thank you for your ongoing support and engagement. We're eager to keep you informed and inspired about our impact every month!
The CFYE Team