African Development Bank Launches Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System to Boost Employment and Entrepreneurship in Africa

The African Development Bank, in partnership with the International Labour Organization, has introduced a groundbreaking system to prioritize youth employment, skills development, and entrepreneurship across its investments. The Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System is a strategic initiative aimed at maximizing the impact of every dollar invested in Africa, turning demographics into a dividend. The system has three focus areas: Youth, Skills, and Jobs, ensuring that Bank-funded projects create sustainable job opportunities, promote youth-led businesses, and enhance career prospects.

Key Takeaways:

• The Youth, Jobs and Skills Marker System is a transformative approach to mainstream youth employment, skills development, and entrepreneurship across the African Development Bank's investments.
• The system has three focus areas: Youth, Skills, and Jobs, with a specific emphasis on supporting youth-led micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, expanding access to practical training and apprenticeships, and ensuring Bank-funded projects create sustainable job opportunities.
• The system is aligned with the Bank's Ten-Year Strategy, which places Africa's young people at the center of development efforts.
• The system is modeled on the success of the Bank's Gender Marker System and will feature an online platform for real-time data tracking, project supervision, and reporting on youth-related skills, businesses, and jobs outcomes.
• The system has been piloted and will be fully implemented in 2026, with technical support from the International Labour Organization.
• The Bank will prioritize youth entrepreneurship and mobilize private sector partnerships to strengthen industry-oriented skills training and job creation over the coming decade.
• The system is the first deliberate action of its kind developed by a development finance institution worldwide.

Statistics:

• 10 to 12 million young Africans enter the labor market each year, with only three million formal jobs available annually.
• The Bank will prioritize youth entrepreneurship and mobilize private sector partnerships to develop youth skills for employability and promote youth-led businesses in priority value chains.
• The International Labour Organization provided technical support for the system's development with financial support from the Bank's Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund.

Sources:

• African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org)
• International Labour Organization
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #8: Decent Work for All