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Youth

Addressing Youth Unemployment in Rwanda and Beyond: A Multi-Country Research Project

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

Rwanda, along with nine other countries, has been selected to participate in the African Youth Pathways to Resilience and Systems Change (AYPReS) project, aimed at tackling the issue of youth unemployment, particularly among marginalized groups. The three-year initiative, led by the Partnership for African Social and Governance Research (PASGR) in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, will help bridge the gap between youth aspirations and sustainable livelihoods by understanding how young people, including refugees, rural women, and those with disabilities, can contribute to reshaping systems that limit their opportunities.

Key Takeaways:

  • Rwanda has a 17% youth unemployment rate, higher than the national average of 11.1%, with young women and rural youth disproportionately affected.
  • The country has multiple youth-oriented policies, but coordination gaps undermine their impact, and many programmes create temporary jobs with no clear graduation pathways.
  • The AYPReS project aims to fill these gaps by understanding how to close them and build long-term solutions for young people, particularly marginalized groups.
  • The project will establish the Utafiti Sera House on Youth Resilience and Systems Change, a research-to-policy platform in Rwanda to co-create solutions with government, civil society, researchers, and youth representatives.
  • Over 250,000 young Rwandans enter the labour market each year, with many absorbed into the informal sector, where challenges remain overwhelming.
  • Young people want to be entrepreneurs, but evidence about which sectors they are most interested in and the challenges they face in starting and sustaining their own businesses is lacking.
  • The AYPReS project is intentional about amplifying the voices of marginalized groups, including youth with disabilities, refugees, and young women in rural areas, often overlooked in policymaking.
  • The initiative will raise awareness about refugees' right to employment among refugees and provide a platform for them to express how they want to be supported and what kind of enterprises they want to pursue.

Statistics:

  • 17% of Rwandan youth are unemployed, with higher rates among young women and rural youth.
  • 250,000 young Rwandans enter the labour market annually.
  • 11.1% is the national average of unemployment in Rwanda.
  • Nearly 84% of youth with vocational training in Rwanda are employed.

Sources:

  • "A New Study Aims to Tackle Youth Employment: What You Need to Know" (no author, no date, no link provided)
  • "African Youth Pathways to Resilience and Systems Change (AYPReS) Project" (pasmgr.org)
  • "LODA - Local Administrative Entities Development Agency" (noloda.gov.rw)
  • "Mastercard Foundation" (mastercardfoundation.org)
  • "PASGR - Partnership for African Social and Governance Research" (pasmgr.org)
  • "The New Times" (allafrica.com)

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