AAAP in the Media
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Liberia -Program for Advancing Youth Entrepreneurship Investment (PAYEI)
In Liberia, the unemployment rate is estimated at 85% with the youth (15-35 years) accounting for 75%. The youth population (15-35 years) is growing 3% per annum on average and currently makes up nearly 40% of the country’s total population of about 5.2 million. Out of the young working population, 90% face vulnerable or irregular employment. Youth, not in employment, education, and training (NEET) amount to 45% of youth (15-24 years).
Employment creation in Liberia faces extraordinary challenges. A significant number of youths are engaged in the development of MSMEs – or aspire to be – yet many of them operate in the informal sector with low productivity due to limited access to financial and non-financial services which are hindering their growth. While limited education and industry and business skills may be impeding youth entrepreneurship and MSME development, weak infrastructure, limited finance, low institutional capacity, and other structural issues are limiting the prospects for rapid and sustainable MSME development and the generation of jobs
The overarching goal of the project is to foster an optimal environment for the development and promotion of youth entrepreneurship and youth-led businesses in Liberia by establishing sustainable vehicles and mechanisms to deploy financial services and non-Financial Services. This is achieved through:
- Establishing governance and stewardship for entrepreneurship
- Strengthening support to entrepreneurship and SME development
- Unlocking accessible financing to young entrepreneurs, youth-led growing small businesses and established SMEs.
- Conducting labor market assessment to identify potential adaptation jobs using an established adaptation taxonomy
- Building capacity in enterprises for climate resilient jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities in adaptation by embedding training into local institutions such as TVET centres
- Propose recommendations to create adaptation jobs through existing MDB investments in the country
- Create at least 1050 direct jobs (including 30% climate adaptation jobs)
- Support at least 300 Youth-led enterprises
- At least 1000 youth to be trained in entrepreneurship and business development to secure formal work or self-employment
- Improved support systems and frameworks for entrepreneurship that ensure young entrepreneurs, youth-led growing small businesses, and established SMEs receive the necessary guidance, mentorship, and resources to thrive
- Enhanced ecosystem that provides comprehensive support to entrepreneurs and SMEs. This includes access to business development services, training programs, networking opportunities, and technical assistance
USD 17 Million (African Development Bank, OPEC, EU)
Adaptation Futures Conference
Venue: Montreal, Canada (Hybrid)
The Adaptation Futures 2023 conference aims to learn from Indigenous, local knowledge and voices in climate change adaptation research, policies, practices and actions around the world, accelerate the adoption of transformative adaptation for long-term resilience, bring marginalized voices, especially from the Global South, to the forefront in pursue of climate justice, equity, diversity and inclusion and accelerate momentum towards the Global Goal on Adaptation and the Global Stocktake and build on action to implement effective adaptation.
Conference themes include:
- Learning from Indigenous and local peoples knowledge and expertise in adaptation
- Dealing with multiple risks: Compound, cascading, cross-border climate change risks
- Making adaptation choices: managing trade-offs and seeking effective adaptation
- When we can no longer adapt
- Who wins, who loses, who decides: Equity and justice in adaptation
- The power of nature for climate action
- Teaching and learning adaptation in a changing climate
- Inclusive adaptation governance and finance: how do we get there?
AAAP Participation
- AAAP side event session under the sub-theme, Accelerators of Innovations as part Innovation Days of the World Bank Adaptation Fund SubConference. The session is titled, “The Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program: A Transformative Initiative for Climate Change Adaptation in Africa to be held on 4th October at 1330 – 1430hours
- Joint IDRC and AAAP session titled, Youth Climate Adaptation Leadership: Insights from capacity building, knowledge brokering and entrepreneurship programs to feature the YouthADAPT initiative.