SOS Children’s Villages International (SOS CVI) in collaboration with Young Africa Leadership Initiative (YALI) has convened a two-week Youth Entrepreneurship and Leadership Training for over 50 young people from 15 African countries. The training takes place this month, in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“The objective of the meeting is to equip these young Africans with innovative skills and deepen their engagement in the process of shaping the continent’s entrepreneurship and leadership path way. It seeks to contribute to the reduction of youth unemployment and create sustainable livelihood opportunities for young people,” says Daniel Ihansekhien, ESAF Regional Youth Empowerment Adviser for SOS Children’s Villages International.
According to the World Economic Forum, Africa is the world’s most youthful continent with more than 400 million young people between aged 15 – 34. Job and entrepreneurial opportunities for this group are important for the continent’s future.
This training further seeks to contribute to the realisation of Sustainable Development Goals Agenda 2030; the African Union Agenda 2063; and the SOS Children’s Villages International Strategy 2030 by empowering young people and providing them with a platform to learn new skills for job creation.
Through specific sessions and panel engagements, the training focuses on topics including but not limited to:
- Youth perspectives on entrepreneurship, self-employment and job creation
- 21st Century youth entrepreneurship strategies, opportunities, possibilities and challenges
- Design driven entrepreneurship
- Business model canvas
- A, B, C of starting and growing businesses
- Skills for identifying business opportunities in rural and urban settings
- Cost-effective business innovation ventures
- Sustainable strategies for small scale businesses
- Economic and social strategies for responsible leadership
- Strategies for personal growth and development
- Life and soft skills, resilience and capacity building
“Fifty-two (52) youth members from 15 different African countries participated in the forum, of these 11 were from South Africa. The youth had to qualify for this training by completing a series of tests, so they earned it and we know that they already have the ability and potential to become future leaders. Unemployment is a challenge in South Africa and we need to do as much as possible to address this problem,” says Sipelile Kaseke, Head of Programmes at SOS Children’s Villages South Africa.
The programme also included plenary sessions with professionals from corporate and social organisations to share their thoughts and motivate young people to lead Africa’s transformation.