Gambia promotes entrepreneurship to address youth unemployment

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is working with Gambia’s Ministries of Youth and Sports and Agriculture to encourage the nation’s youth to create jobs.

The jobless rate among Africa’s youth has become a primary concern for the continent. Africa is home to seven of the world’s fastest-expanding economies, but the rate of job creation is not sufficient to support this rapid growth.

Some argue that Africa’s age demographics are to blame for its high youth unemployment rate; it is the “youngest” continent with youth accounting for 70% of its population. Nevertheless, its youth unemployment rate is around five times the global average, with 60% of people aged 15-24 out of work.

Gambia’s new partnership aims to tackle this alarming situation by turning the nation’s unemployed youth into job creators.

Gambia’s Youth and Sports minister Alieu K. Jammeh said: “We want to make our young people believe that in agriculture through entrepreneurship you can make a decent living,” also noting that such a move could enhance the nation’s “drive towards food self-sufficiency.”

This scheme will be supported by relevant education and training to improve the country’s skill base.

Relying on informal work may have its downsides. Fabián Slonimczyk notes that informal workers are unprotected against negative shocks such as ill-health, but also notes that informal entrepreneurship is a strong source of upward mobility when formal employment is scarce.

Furthermore, evidence suggests that a focus on skill development could be the key to combatting unemployment in youth-rich countries. David Lam finds that policies such as education and labor market flexibility can improve youth labor markets more effectively than simply declining youth cohorts.

Read more here.

Related articles:
Informal employment in emerging and transition economies, by Fabián Slonimczyk
Youth bulges and youth unemployment, by David Lam