Insights from the 2017 Young Africa Works Summit Webinar

The Young Africa Works post-Summit webinar was a reunion that brought together youth delegates, speakers, and the Mastercard Foundation’s learning partner to discuss tangible outcomes and share insights from the 2017 Summit in Kigali.

Advisem, the Foundation’s learning partner has been working with the Foundation for more than year to assess whether the Summit would achieve its objectives and contribute to knowledge sharing for the youth livelihoods sector. During the webinar, Maryvonne Arnould, Advisem Vice President and Partner presented nine key findings:

1. The Summit illustrated how agriculture can help address critical issues of youth unemployment in Africa and underlined the opportunities and challenges associated with youth participation in this sector.

2. The Summit offered a compelling case for effective, sustainable, holistic and youth-centric approaches to youth employment and self-employment in agriculture.

3. The Summit sparked participants’ interest for agriculture as a potential avenue for youth and inspired participants to commit themselves to act for the future.

4. Participants enriched their knowledge and understanding of the specific themes addressed during the sessions.

5. Participants from diverse horizons were able to make new contacts and establish new linkages.

6. Youth were given an opportunity to build new skills and to learn from the experience of others. Many youth delegates are securing tangible jobs and opportunities due to connections made at the Summit.

7. Young people had the opportunity to be heard as a credible source of information.

8. The Foundation was able to showcase its youth livelihoods work in Africa.

9. The Summit was well rated by participants but more time will be needed to assess its tangible contribution to furthering the development of youth livelihoods in Africa.

The findings resonated with youth delegates and panelists Janet Maro, Jabulani Nyengere and Pilirani Khoza who each spoke about the impact the Summit has had on their professional lives since February. Last month, Janet, Founder and Director of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) was awarded the prestigious Lush Spring Prize for her work in regenerative agriculture. Jabulani, a researcher with New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) was so inspired after hearing about the challenges that youth face getting access to financial services that he co-founded the Nyasa Youth Microfinance (NYM), an organization that provides microfinance loans for Malawian youth, with support from his Summit mentor. Pilirani, Founder of Bunda Female Students Organisation (BUFESO) recently received the Gender in Agribusiness for Africa (GAIA) Ag-Tech Innovation Challenge for Central and Southern Africa and was also selected as a role model for Save the Children Malawi.

All three youth highlighted the importance of the youth pre-Summit program and the value of the YPARD mentorship program. They agreed that the Summit added value because it did more than talk about youth – young people had their voices heard as keynote speakers, panelists, or  youth delegates and provided credible and valuable insights that help further the conversation on youth employment and agriculture.

Throughout the webinar panelists shared their personal highlights and takeaways:

1. Janet spoke about how policymakers can help young people achieve their potential and suggested that investing in spaces for youth like youth think tanks and incubators can help foster the entrepreneurial spirit.

2. Pilirani encouraged governments and leaders to have faith in youth initiatives and stop assuming young people can’t drive transformation. Young people are demonstrating their interest, ability, capacity and willingness to work in agriculture. Elders need to offer trust and support.

3. Maryvonne noted that ongoing discussion, exchange and knowledge dissemination has continued after the Summit and that delegates will continue to act in support of youth driving agricultural transformation.

The post-Summit report, Advisem Learning Report and key takeaways from the webinar will all help inform the content and agenda of future Summit’s to come. To all who shared feedback and comments with our learning partner, a big thank you from the Foundation for your helping us plan convenings that contribute to helping young people in Africa improve their livelihoods.

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Check out Pilirani’s blog to learn more about her experience as a key note speaker at the Summit and what new steps and actions she’s taken since returning home to Malawi.