The Youth to Youth Fundin West Africa

A Joint Program of YEN and UNIDO

The reproduction of the whole or any part of this document is permitted with the citation of the author.

For further information:

The United Nations Industrial Development OrganizationVienna International Centre Wagramerstr. 5, P.O. Box 300A-1400 Vienna, AustriaTel: +43 (1) 26026-0Email: unido@unido.org Or visit our site:www.unido.org

Youth Employment Network Office for West AfricaILO Office in DakarImmeuble EPI, Boulevard du Sud x Rue des EcrivainsPoint E, B.P. 414, Dakar, Senegal Tel: (221) 33 825 9336Email: yen-wa@ilo.orgOr visit our site: www.ilo.org/yen

This report is a joint publication of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization and the Youth Employment Network. August 2011

Acknowledgements

• Financialsupport: The authors of this report thank UNIDO for their support in printing this publication.

• Editing: We would like to thank Doris Hribernigg, Julia Rohe, Matteo Landi and Maria Anna Kloss at UNIDO as well as Susana Puerto Gonzalez at YEN for their assistance with the editing of this publication.

• Fieldsupport: We would not have been able to write this report without the help of our project staff and partners in the four Mano River

Union countries. A special thanks to Zuo Taylor and James Sumo in Liberia, Kabba Sesay and Juliana Fornah in Sierra Leone, Patrice Bogna and Marie Laure Assirifix Dedoh in Côte D’Ivoire and Sitan Keita in Guinea.

• Authors: Tendai Pasipanodya, Sharon Kennedy, Manuel Mattiat, Boubacar Diallo

TableofContents

Foreword ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 4What is the Youth to Youth Fund ................................................................................................................................................................................. 5

Why Do We Do This? ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 7The Challenge in West Africa................................................................................................................................................................................... 7 The Problem With Some Solutions............................................................................................................................................................................ 7Why Our Approach is Different.....................:.......................................................................................................................................................... 8

Results from the MRU Pilot Round .............................................................................................................................................................................. 9

Outlook ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 12

Country Profiles Guinea .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 14Liberia .................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20Côte d’Ivoire .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 28Sierra Leone .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 34

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Foreword

In 2004, Kofi Annan stated that “tens of millions of youth across [Africa] lack prospects of decent work. This is not only a tragic waste of a precious human resources; it can also have security implications for almost every country in Afri-ca.” Seven years on, the problem persists - substantial improvements regarding the pressing challenge of youth employment are still lacking and young people are dissatisfied with the half-hearted efforts in addressing the youth employ-ment challenge. Simply put, they want to see more tangible results.

Young people are demanding decent jobs. This is no small request in a region such as the Mano River Union. Here, ongoing political instability has created no-job economies where youth have often fallen prey to warlords, criminal gangs or illegal migration syndicates in efforts to survive. Yet somehow, we must find a way to operate in these difficult circumstances and create sustainable and de-cent jobs. That is why YEN teamed up with UNIDO to pilot an innovative way to create employment in the four post conflict countries of the Mano River Union. We shared a common belief that youth had to play a more active role in tackling the youth employment challenge and that business as usual would not provide us with real impact - the sustainable decent jobs youth were demanding.

It is crucial to note that the Youth to Youth Fund is creating long-term jobs that have continued to exist till today, over a year after the end of the pilot. Young people made it clear that they were tired of training after training that did not lead them to employment. So we threw the question back at them. How could they create employment for young people in such an environment? I am sure you will find their responses, summarized in this report, relevant and very inter-esting.

Susana Puerto Acting ManagerThe Youth Employment Network

Over the past decade and a half, the Mano River Union countries have been exposed to multifaceted challenges, including civil war and unrest, which have produced widespread economic and social disarray and insecurity. As long as sustainable solutions for these challenges are not found, peace and security remain fragile, as the latest events in Côte d’Ivoire have shown. The sub-region has one of the world’s youngest populations: Nearly three out of four people are under the age of 30 and youth unemployment remains one of the most pressing issues.

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) has devel-oped a comprehensive strategy for the establishment of tailor-made funding mechanisms for marginalized youth and young entrepreneurs. Youth-led busi-ness start-ups, when provided with various forms of financial and non-financial assistance, can effectively lead to the creation of successful businesses, gener-ating profit and income. These, in turn, increase consumption and tax revenues, stimulate overall economic growth and thereby bring benefits to all sectors of the economy.

The Youth to Youth Fund, a joint initiative of the Youth Employment Network (YEN) and UNIDO, follows this strategy and has yielded highly positive results. Youth-led organizations have increased their capacities, beneficiaries are better off than before, and youth entrepreneurship has established itself as a bright reality.

Youth are the most precious resource for the future. Providing for youth is not only our moral duty but also an economic necessity. The creation of productive work for youth can help prevent present and future economic, social and hu-manitarian disasters and lead to healthy and competitive economies.

Kandeh K. YumkellaDirector-GeneralUnited Nations Industrial Development Organization

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IntroductionThe Youth to Youth Fund in West Africa is a joint programme of the Youth Employment Network (YEN) and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) that is aimed at enabling youth-led organizations to actively participate in employment generating projects for young people. The pilot round of the fund was launched in December 2008, in the four countries of the Mano River Union (MRU), namely C ôte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Libe-ria, and Sierra Leone. It was funded by the Government of Japan, the World Bank and Swedish SIDA as part of the “Multi-stakeholder Programme on Productive and Decent Work for Youth”. The success of the pilot round of the Fund led to subsequent rounds of the programme in Guinea, through the support of the United Nations Peace Building Fund (PBF), the International Olympic Committee and the World Bank and in Sierra Leone, through the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Austrian government. YEN has also expanded the programme to East Africa, in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda through the support of the Danish-led Africa Commission.

This report focuses on the results of the pilot round in the MRU. It begins with a general overview of the approach of the Youth to Youth Fund in West Africa. It explains the programme cycle of the Fund, the key results and the lessons learned from the pilot round and offers an outlook of the programme’s future application. Finally, the report also provides profiles of all the projects supported by the pilot round.

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AboutUNIDO

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations mandated to promote and ac-celerate sustainable industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition. The organization cooperates, in particular, with low income countries to support poverty reduction through the promo-tion of productive activities. To this end, it provides both policy advisory and technical cooperation services. UNIDO enhances Women and Youth Entrepreneurship Development and ensures the mainstreaming of Pro-ductive Work for Youth & Gender Equality in its activities.

AboutYEN

The Youth Employment Network (YEN) is a partnership of the United Nations, International Labour Organization, and the World Bank set up after the Millennium Summit in 2001 to find new and durable solutions to the youth employment challenge. YEN aims to promote innovation and youth participation through youth challenge funds and by broker-ing partnerships through an online space for the global youth employ-ment community. YEN also promotes a culture of results measurement for youth employment policies and programmes trying to broaden the evidence on what works and fostering informed policymaking. YEN is managed by a permanent secretariat hosted by the ILO in Geneva with field offices in Dakar, Senegal, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The Youth to Youth Fund is a grant scheme for youth-led development with three principal objectives:

1. To build the capacity of youth-led organizations and enable youth to move from being passive recipients to become active participants in the promotion and creation of youth employment.

2. To facilitate the testing of new innovative ideas and approaches that enable young people to gain experience and decent employment as start-up entrepreneurs.

3. To learn from lessons and significantly expand on approaches and in-novative business ideas that work.

The Fund is a real laboratory of ideas that come from youth – from be-ginning to end – and promote local economic development. At its core, the Fund is about meaningful youth participation. By seriously engaging youth in finding solutions, significant value can be added to the youth em-ployment challenge. The Fund enables youth-led organizations to come up with innovative youth employment projects that target young people aged 15 - 35 years.

As shown in figure 1, the Fund offers grants and capacity-building support to youth-led organizations that have an innovative youth employment proposal. The youth-led organizations are selected through a grant com-petition that is open to all registered non-profit and youth-led1 organiza-tions. The selected grantees receive funding as well as capacity-building support and training on project design and implementation. In addition, there is a network of project assistants in each region that support and monitor the organizations as they implement their projects.

1 By “youth-led” organization, we mean an organization in which young people aged between 15 and 35 represent the majority of the management and/or decision- making body (i.e. trustees’ board, board of directors, management team, etc.) as well as the majority of members or employees.

The grantees will typically provide their final beneficiries with a compre-hensive training programme that includes soft skills, technical skills and entrepreneurship. They help the projects start up the micro-enterprises by endowing them with the tools and materials to begin their business.

WhatistheYouthtoYouthFund?

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Figure1

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TheChallengeinWestAfrica

The youth employment challenge in this sub-region, where over 62% of the pop-ulation is aged under 25, is significant2. While the youth unemployment rate is fairly high, around 13% on average, it masks the gravity of the problem, as it does not take into account underemployed workers, discouraged workers, or those who lack decent employment. Furthermore, young people in Sub-Saharan Africa are about twice as likely to be unemployed as adults3.

Of those youth who are employed the majority can be considered as “work-ing poor”. According to the World Bank, on average 72% of youth in Sub Saha-ran Africa live on less than 2 USD a day. Furthermore, between 65% and 90% of youth in West Africa earn under the minimum wage. These bleak statistics often translate into feelings of frustration and anger amongst youth in the sub-region, which leads to high levels of migration and increased political instability. The is-sue of political instability is particularly important in the four Mano River Union (MRU) countries, where youth in the past have been easily manipulated for political gain, further exacerbating tensions and insecurity.

A major difficulty in West Africa and in the MRU is that most countries are “no job economies”. That is, they are countries where the number of jobs available is far below the number of people seeking jobs. In such economies, people are pushed into self-employment, petty trade, and micro entrepreneurship in the informal sector. In this case, many entrepreneurs are necessity entrepreneurs rather than opportunity entrepreneurs. Necessity entrepreneurs cannot find other forms of employment, they remain small-scale, informal and have a low contribution to employment creation. Opportunity entrepreneurs, on the other hand, are better educated; they seize opportunities, manage growth-oriented enterprises, and have a high contribution to employment creation.

2 World Bank, 2008/09, “Africa Development Indicators 2008/09, Youth and Employment in Africa – The Potential, the Problem, the Promise”.3 ILO, 2010, “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2009.”

TheProblemWithSomeSolutions

The Youth Employment Inventory (YEI) is an initiative of the World Bank, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) and YEN which tracks youth employment projects around the world. According to this invento-ry, about 40% of youth employment projects failed to yield positive impacts. This figure rises to between 56% - 67% when cost effectiveness is taken into account. This observation is all the more worrying in the context of West Africa and post-conflict countries where youth are already frustrated and marginalised. Many young people are going through youth employment programmes but subse-quently fail to find employment. Anecdotal evidence supports this and often, youth complain that they go through a training programme and fail to find sus-tainable employment with their newly acquired skills. The YEI showed that if training is not comprehensive, for example if it does not include complementary soft skills, on the job training and mentoring as well as job matching or access to start up resources, it is more likely to have no impact.

According to a survey by YEN of over 300 youth employment programmes in West Africa, one of the most popular interventions implemented by organiza-tions tackling youth employment is training. In West Africa, training is often not comprehensive. Furthermore, training is often based on a standard set of trades that do not necessarily reflect the market realities or help youth to ven-ture into new and innovative areas. Finally, the vast majority of programmes do not meaningfully engage youth in their projects. Consequently youth are pas-sive recipients who have little say in the design and implementation of projects that target them.

WhyDoWeDoThis?

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WhyOurApproachisDifferent

As further detailed in Figure 1 (page 6), the Youth to Youth Fund gives grants and capacity building support to youth-led organizations so that they implement in-novative youth-led projects that create employment for young people. The Youth to Youth Fund tries to learn from the lessons of hundreds of youth employment programmes consolidated through the YEI and aims at having a greater impact on the outcomes of young people’s lives. This is done by incorporating the fol-lowing aspects into the programme design:

• Promotingandtestinginnovation: During the grant competition, innovative youth employment project ideas are screened in three rounds of selection and those which are most likely to lead to a new and viable business idea are ultimately funded.

• Strong youth participation: We promote youth-led development by only funding projects that are for young people (aged 15 - 35 years) and created and implemented by young people.

• Comprehensivetraining: During the capacity building training seminar for fi-nalists, we ensure that their project proposals are sufficiently comprehensive and viable. We select projects that aim for a young person to go into the project and come out with a decent and long term job rather than just a skill which may lead to a job.

• Strongsupportnetworkontheground: We have a network of project assis-tants who work to monitor the projects and serve as a first point of contact for the grantees and as an early warning system in the case of problems with projects implementation.

• Encouragemicroenterprisestobecooperatives: Due to the fact that most of the projects are targeting necessity entrepreneurs rather than opportu-nity entrepreneurs, we encourage the grantees to help their beneficiaries to form cooperatives. This way, they can pool their competencies, resources and risk.

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In December 2008, the pilot round of the Youth to Youth Fund was launched in Guinea, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Sierra Leone. The pilot round tested our model of giving youth a chance to design and imple-ment youth employment projects. The pilot was successful and provided valuable lessons on how to improve subsequent rounds in West Africa.The pilot round provided over 450,000 USD to youth-led organizations in the MRU. Figure 2 shows how the funding was distributed between the four countries. Of the 270 applications that were received, the 14 most innovative projects were funded. The majority of projects that youth submitted did not just stop at training. They typically were train-ing programmes which would also equip the trainees and provide them with practical work experience so that they would be able to run their own micro-enterprises by the end of the project.

The following provides an overview of the key results of the pilot round.

Beneficiaries There are beneficiaries at two levels:• The intermediary beneficiaries are the 14 youth-led organizations

that received grants. One hundred percent of grantees stated that the Fund had significantly increased their organization’s capacity. They found the range of tools provided during the programme, such as the financial monitoring sheet and the monitoring and evaluation templates, to be of particular value as well as the seminar on proj-ect design and management. Many of the grantees said the grant increased their credibility and over 50% have already acquired new funding since their grant from the Youth to Youth Fund.

• The end beneficiaries are the 724 disadvantaged youth aged 15-35 that the grantees selected for their projects. Interviews with the beneficiaries have shown that their living conditions improved sig-nificantly since they began participating in the Youth to Youth Fund. They have seen an increase in their income and employability due to the newly-acquired business knowledge, soft skills and work ex-perience. They repeatedly stated that they were proud to own their micro-enterprises and that their standing in their community and self-esteem had significantly increased.

ResultsfromtheMRUPilotRound

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Figure2:GrantsbyCountry

YoungwomenIn the pilot round approximately 60% of beneficiaries were young women and nine of the fourteen organizations specifically target-ed young women. While this is a good start it is important to en-sure that in subsequent rounds more young women participate as project coordinators. Further steps are being taken to ensure that young women participate fully in a project.

MicroenterprisesandJobsThe project helped the beneficiaries create 61 youth-led microen-terprises. The microenterprises cover a vast range of sectors from agro-processing to arts as shown in figure 3. The Country Profile section further elaborates on the details of the various microenter-prises that were created. The majority of these are cooperatives. The average profit per month of each enterprise is estimated at 530 USD.

To date, 75% of beneficiaries continue to have a job they obtained through the projects. This figure is impressive especially consider-ing the high level of social, economic and political instability in the Mano River Union over the last two years. The beneficiaries report-ed earning between 40 USD and 130 USD per month or 43 USD on average. The recent crisis in Côte d’Ivoire significantly impacted on the projects. Several sites were pillaged and destroyed which led to a significant loss of livelihoods.

CostBenefitRatio The youth-led project offers a favourable ratio as one job created costs around 500 USD (including all direct costs). Youth-led orga-nizations were able to deliver jobs for young people at a relatively low cost. Their role as valuable intermediaries is underscored by the

fact that not only are they well placed to design successful and innovative youth employment programmes; with the right support they can also do this at a low cost.

Urbanvs.RuralThere was a slight bias towards urban projects in the pilot round. Of the 14 projects seven have at least one project site in a rural area, and 10 have a proj-ect site in at least one urban area. Three grantees indicated that they have a site in both urban and rural areas. Subsequent rounds of the Fund have seen an increase in the participation of rural youth projects. This is in part because of the increase in project staff based outside the capital cities, which have helped disseminate the call for proposals in rural areas

Figure3:SectorofJobsCreated

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KeyAccomplishments LessonsLearned

• The Youth to Youth Fund engages youth as partners in development and employment creation rather than as passive recipients.

• The Youth to Youth Fund is promoting and testing innovative solu-tions to the youth employment challenge; furthermore those that prove to be successful can be easily replicated.

• 85% of all beneficiaries had a job by the end of the project. Despite the significant instability in the sub-region, 75% still had a job one year after the end of the project.

• The majority of the micro-enterprises are sustainable and continue after the first year of funding from YEN.

• The Youth to Youth Fund has created social capital by facilitating a web of interactions between over 70 different actors, including cen-tral and local governments as well as private and non-profit actors.

• The projects are in line with local and national government priorities. All projects have been endorsed by local government, with over 20 local authorities supporting the grantees.

• The selection process was open, transparent and widely accepted.

• There is strong demand for the activities of the Youth to Youth Fund. In subsequent rounds, YEN/UNIDO opted for a three-step selection process inviting applicants to hand in short concept notes and then asking short-listed candidates to present fully fledged proposals and undergo an interview.

• The projects would not have taken off without the seed money provided because the target group of underprivileged youth is not reached by other commercial or non-commercial support services.

• YEN and UNIDO staff have provided close support and guidance at every stage of the grantees project implementation; from project de-sign, to implementation to monitoring. This has been crucial to the success of projects and should be continued and further strength-ened in future rounds.

• Grantees have found the various project management tools that were provided to them helpful. In subsequent rounds, a training course on these and other projects management tools was provided before grantees began project implementation.

• Having the support of local governments has proved to be key in en-suring that the projects can be easily implemented. When notified in advance local governments tended to be very supportive. In some cases, they have helped secure key resources such as land.

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Outlook

Youth employment is an important tool for conflict prevention as it contributes to socio-economic de-velopment and political stability. Particularly in post conflict crisis situations, the Youth to Youth Fund can be a viable solution to reintegrate ex-combatants, involve youth in development processes and en-gage them by securing decent income and employ-ment for their future. The Youth to Youth Fund is a tool that effectively captures this quick impact and strengthens social cohesion by working with youth-led organizations.

Much has been achieved with the 450,000 USD ini-tially provided to youth-led organizations in the Mano River Union by the Youth to Youth Fund in 2008; 565 decent jobs have been created and 61 vi-able enterprises have been set up. In light of the excellent results that were achieved through this pilot round, the programme has been replicated in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. The lessons drawn from this round helped to im-prove the project structure and implementation and are the basis for even more solid results in the ongo-ing projects. In Guinea, 16 projects were selected in December 2010 and are expected to create 468 jobs with a funding of 260,000 USD. In Sierra Leone, sev-en projects were selected in 2011 and an investment of 115,000 USD is expected to lead to the creation of 205 jobs. In East Africa YEN has received 1,5 million USD for grants over a five year period.

To date, five Youth to Youth Fund competitions have been held in 12 countries. Consequently, a growing pool of innovative business ideas are being identified and tested. At the same time, a network of youth-led organizations are gaining significant project manage-ment experiences. This testing and capacity building process is the first phase of the Youth to Youth Fund. The second phase will build on the most successful project ideas in the following ways;

• Expandingtheproject: the same youth-led organi-zation will implement the same project for a new set of beneficiaries. This is starting to happen as the grantees receive funding from other donors to further expand their successful projects.

• Replicating the project: a new organization can reproduce the same project, either in a new re-gion or a different country at a similar scale. The Youth to Youth Fund grantee can serve as a mas-ter trainer and also earn a fee from the new orga-nization for site visits and various project tools. This also allows for further testing and identifying ways of adapting the business idea to different lo-cal contexts.

• Scaling-up the project idea: a large organization such as a national training centre or UN organiza-tion could take one idea and replicate it at a large scale. The grantee again could work closely with the organization to ensure the successful replica-tion and improvement of the projects.

Consequently, while Phase One is about creating hundreds of jobs through the identification and test-ing of innovation, Phase Two is about creating thou-sands of jobs through the expansion, replication and scaling up of the best ideas. Over the course of the coming year, UNIDO and YEN will undertake the next steps:

• Continue finding new ideas through subsequent rounds of Youth to Youth Fund (Phase 1);

• Start replicating the most promising ideas through a second window in subsequent rounds of the Funds (Phase 2);

• Identify partners to cooperate with in order to pave the way for significant replication and ex-pansion (Phase 2).

The results of the first phase have been encouraging and proved that youth can play an active role in tack-ling the youth employment challenge. The ideas they have come up with are innovative and have managed to create sustainable jobs despite the challenges these post conflict countries have faced. Future ac-tivities of the Fund will build upon the central con-clusion of this report: Youth-led organizations can ef-fectively support youth to start-up their businesses, generating profit and income for the most vulnerable and marginalized groups in society.

Entrepreneurship and self-sustainable businesses can generate employment for youth while stimulating economic growth in both the formal and informal sector. With access to funding and the necessary technical support, the possibilities and success opportu-nities of this younger generation are truly unbounded, as the present report clearly demonstrates. Based on these positive expe-riences, mechanisms must be developed to replicate the success stories on a larger scale and result in even greater impact.

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YouthtoYouthFundGranteesMano River Union 2008

On the following pages are selected profiles of the fourteen Youth to Youth Fund projects from the pilot round. For each organization, the key objectives from their project plan are given and the current situation of the project is described. The beneficiary spotlights emphasise the per-sonal impact of each project on a young person either as a beneficiary or a project coordinator.

GuineaG.U.I.D.E.

Project PlanName of The Project: Commercial Exploitation of the Moringa TreeGrant Size: 30,305 USDType of Organization: CooperativePartnership: Association for Family Welfare (AGBEF /

Labe)Project Idea: The Moringa tree is famed for being a

nutritional dynamo. GUIDE wants to grow the plant in Pita and Labé, Guinea. They planned to make a health supplement with the plants’ leaves that they would sell both at markets and through a network of 100 health centers in the 2 regions.

Expected Results: 90,000 Moringa trees planted20 beneficiaries trained22,500 sachets of Moringa powder produced per harvest, of which at least 19,500 sold.

Current SituationProject Manager: Cherifou Diallo, 27 years oldBeneficiaries: 20Jobs Created: 20Monthly Salaries: Approximately 60 USDDescription of Jobs:All the cooperative members work together to grow and harvest the plant, process it into powder, and market and sell it.Number of Cooperatives: 1Monthly profit: Approximately 1150 USDDescription of Cooperatives:The cooperative had its first harvest in February 2011 and has now completed a third harvest. From the raw plant, they produce Moringa powder, a nutritional supplement. They sell to wholesalers and directly to their clients in Conakry, Labé, and the environs of Labé. They have been able to sell all they produce and hope to expand their production into Moringa oil.Impact on Organizational Capacity:The organization found the management training and practical experi-ence very useful and they are curretly negotiating further internships with NEPAD and the German Embassy.

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ImplementationChallenges:Animals partially destroyed part of the crop, so they are working to repair the fields.Successes:GUIDE successfully helped young women to produce and sell three har-vests of Moringa and expect to reach 4 or 5 harvests in the next year.

“When you are involved in agriculture it’s like you plant a seed and then there is the satisfaction of the harvest, it’s like a baby, we are very proud, the fact that we are able to see the job cre-ation, in this environment, it is truly rewarding, and has given us credibility. It is a powerful thing to these jobs in a rural area.”- Cherifou Diallo, Project Manager (translated from French)

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Mariama has been involved since the beginning of the project. Along with the other 19 beneficiaires, they formed the Moringa Cooperative Nafa Noussy. Nafa means satisfaction with oneself in Peuhl the main local language in Labé.

Mariama works along side her fellow co-workers with all the activites related to commercialising the Moringa leaves from planting and harvesting to drying and processing the powder. The women of the cooperative did not know each other be-fore but they have become very tightly knit and can rely on each other.

Now that she has started earning regular payments with each harvest, Mariama believes that she will continue to earn money through the cooperative. Because the plant does not need to be replanted with each harvest, she can continue with other activities on the side such as market gardening. She is able to cover health costs, she can buy more food and she feels a sense of solidarity with the other women in the cooperative.

Spotlight on:

MariamaDiallo

Beneficiaries:

• 20 beneficiaries in total• 18 women and 2 men• The oldest is 28 and the youngest is 18

Location:

Noussy prefecture is 20km from Labé. There is a dirt road that leads to Noussy that is in a poor but useable condition. There is one ben-eficiariy from each small village (sector) of Noussy. The are some hills and vallies and ag-riculture is the primary activity. The principal crop grown is fonio, a grain used as a staple food. In addition, there is some vegetable farming as well as goat, sheep, and chicken rearing. Commercial activity is limited to small commercial trade activities.

GUIDE

“The project has helped raise my standing in the commu-nity. I am independent and people now look up to me.”

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GuineaSOSMiskines

Project PlanName of The Project: Recycling plastic wasteGrant Size: 44,000 USDType of Organization: Youth led NGOPartnership: Burgeap InternationalProject Idea: SOS estimates that Guinea’s capital Conakry

produces over 600 tonnes of plastic waste a day of which only 40% is collected and disposed of. SOS planned to organize youth into 5 trash collection companies and pay them for the trash they collect. SOS would process the plastic waste into pellets that they could then sell to companies that pro-duce plastic products.

Expected Results: 10 cooperatives and 37 direct jobs created2000 households served by the project490 tonnes of plastic granules sold

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Current SituationProject Manager: Moussa Kane, 36 yearsBeneficiaries: 37Jobs Created: 15 permanent staff and about 2000 mobile

collectorsMonthly Salaries: Average: 52 USDDescription of Jobs:The central recycling center hires permanent staff to operate the ma-chines to convert plastic waste into plastic pellets. The cooperatives employ youth to collect the plastic waste and transport it to the recy-cling centre.Number of Cooperatives: 7Monthly profit: Approximately 1,500 USDDescription of Cooperatives:The seven cooperatives were trained and equipped to collect plastic waste. They also pay households and independent collectors for their plastic waste. These cooperatives then bring this waste to the recycling centre and receive a portion of the profits from the sale of recycled plastic.Impact on Organizational Capacity:SOS Miskines is currently negotiating a partnership with the Ministry of the Environment. They hope to increase their capacity by acquiring a truck to transport plastic, a spin dry machine for the washed plastic, and an electrical transformer to reduce their consumption of carburant.

ImplementationChallenges:The organization is still looking for funding to purchase additional ma-chinery to increase their production. Another challenge is the high cost of transporting waste to the processing site.Successes:Over 2000 independent garbage collectors receive an income from sell-ing their plastic waste to the organization.

“Our work contributes to the development of a largely untapped field in Guinea, but nonetheless a source of growth. This type of centre should be replicated elsewhere within the country. Also, we would like to participate in meetings to exchange experiences and training in the treatment and recovery of waste.”- Moussa Kane, Project Manager (translated from French)

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Macky is 23 years old and started working for SOS Miskines in August 2010.

When he joined the organization, he was trained on the collection and treatment of waste. At the end of the training, he was given the necessary tools and protective clothing such as boots, gloves, and a face mask. Macky started collecting plastic waste and soon became the supervisor of the group of youth collectors in his neighbourhood.

Before he started working with SOS Miskines, Macky was unemployed. Now he consistently makes 312,000 Guinean Francs (47 USD) per month. “As long as there is garbage, our work will continue,” he said. With this salary, he is able to help sup-port his small family.

Macky thinks the project can be improved by reinforcing the operational capacity of the recycling factory. Stable affordable electricity and a reliable means of transpor-tation are the two factors that could increase the revenues of the organization.

Spotlight on:

MackyConté

Beneficiaries:

• 37 beneficiaries in total• 18 women and 19 men• Youngest beneficiary is 17 years old and

the oldest is 36 (the coordinator)

Location:

SOS Miskines operates in Matoto, a sub-pre-fecture of the Guinean capital, Conakry. The population of Conakry is just over 2 million people and growing. There is very little for-mal employment, and the few jobs that exist are mostly in the public or mining sectors. Meanwhile, although almost all of the coun-try’s small manufacturing occurs in or near the capital, growth in this sector is severely strained by water and electricity shortages.

SOSM

iskines

“Before, no-one wanted to do this work. Today, everyone envies us because of the income we’re making.”

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Guinea

AssociationDesVolontairesPourLaGestionDesRessourcesNaturelles(AVGRN)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Reforestation Project Grant Size: 14,115 USDType of Organization: Youth led NGOPartnership: Association Guinéenne pour le Développe-

ment Intégré et Durable (AGUIDID)Project Idea: AVGRN’s project aimed to train rural youth

in basic business management and forestry. The training programme would be led by young forestry graduates. Following the training the youth would set up 5 enterprises to maintain the trees and sell the fruit trees within the areas of Koubia and Labé.

Expected Results: 70 youth trained in agro-forestry (fruit and forest trees) 5 cooperatives formed15,000 forest trees planted and 15,000 fruit tree seedlings grown and sold

Current SituationProject Manager: Mamadou Coumbassa, 55 yearsBeneficiaries: 76Jobs Created: 60Monthly Salaries: Highest: 62.5 USD (urban)

Lowest: 43 USD (rural)Description of Jobs:10 urban youth were employed directly by the organization for the dura-tion of one year to assist in establishing the cooperatives. The 60 rural youth plant and maintain nurseries of seedlings and sell them in their communities.Number of Cooperatives: 5Monthly profit: Approximately 300 USD per cooperativeDescription of Cooperatives:The five cooperatives operate in two different regions, raising and sell-ing seedlings. They offer seedlings for forest and fruit trees. Impact on Organizational Capacity:This was AVGRN’s first time managing such a large project, so they benefitted from the management tools they gained and used through this grant. They are trying to improve their financial management and continue to apply for new funding.

w

ImplementationChallenges:While the installation of the nursery went well, the organization had trouble selling all the seedlings so they replanted more lucrative crops.Successes:AVGRN considers their biggest success to be the reinforcement of their organizational capacity, as well as bringing employment to many youth in only one year. They are keeping these youth from unemployment and stemming the rural exodus.

“The grant scheme gave us confidence in our capacity for innovation and for large scale project management.”

- Mamadou Counbassa, Project Manager18

Amadou is 32 years old, married, and started working under this project in 2009.

He previously obtained a diploma in forestry in Faranah and has been without em-ployment. The main activities now include planting trees (reforestation) and com-mercializing fruits which were harvested from the fruit tree plantation. The project first of all allowed him to acquire skills in installation of tree nurseries, logistics, business and management techniques.

Amadou has also gained financial independence due to this self-employment: he got married and bought himself a car which he uses as a taxi. He believes that his job is sustainable and together with the taxi revenues will secure him sufficient income for the future.

Spotlight on:

AmadouSidiGadigo

Beneficiaries:

• 70 beneficiaries in total• 10 beneficiaries were hired on a tempo-

rary basis in Conakry, and 60 permanent rural jobs were created by the project’s enterprises

• 22 of the beneficiaries are women and 48 are men

• Their ages range from 18 to 35 years

Location:

The project is located in Labé which is in one of the seven regions of Guinea and mainly consists of rural areas. The earth is particular-ly fertile here, hence an ideal location for tree planting and fruit production. The problem is that water sources are providing less and less water and that the current fruit production cannot cater for the demand in the region. Projects which protect the environment and increase fruit supply are thus crucial.

AVGRN

19

Liberia

BetterFutureFoundation(BFF)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Bricks for Life Project (BLP) Grant Size: 8,719 USDType of Organization: Youth development NGOPartnership: Guidance from the National Ministry of Youth and

SportsProject Idea: BFF proposed to train youth in the production of

red clay bricks. The bricks have been tested by BFF and are a good substitute to the standard bricks most commonly used in Liberia. The beneficiaries would receive on the job training in making these red clay bricks and then be employed by the project.

Expected Results: 21 youth have brick making work experience250,000 bricks produced250,000 bricks sold

Current SituationProject Manager: Joseph Kenneh, 31 yearsBeneficiaries: 22Jobs Created: 22Monthly Salaries: Average: 80 USDDescription of Jobs:The youth manufacture the bricks and sell them. Number of Cooperatives: 3Monthly profit: Varies according to siteDescription of Cooperatives:Each coop was provided with one bricklaying machine, one wheelbarrow, two shovels, and 125 USD in cash. They manufacture high quality bricks and sell them in three different communities around Monrovia.Impact on Organizational Capacity:BFF has since received funding from the EU and ECOWAS for a project on regional trade integration, as well as from GEF and UNDP for a biodiversity conservation project.Implementation

Challenges:The main challenge was selling the bricks. Since the bricks were higher qual-ity than the mud bricks (they had cement mixed in), the higher price made the sales slower than expected. Another area for improvement is ensuring adequate storage for the bricks during the rainy season.Successes:The most valuable part of the training for the beneficiaries was the technical training and management of personal finances.

“[Our most significant accomplishment is] instilling in the youth the culture of work, dis-cipline to save money, and training in bricks production.”- Belvis O’Diaji, Programme Mentor

20

Jamel is 23 years old. He started working with the Bricks for Life project in Janu-ary 2009. When he first joined the project he had just finished high school and was waiting to go to university.

Through the Bricks for Life project, he received training on how to mold the bricks and promote them. At the end of the training, he became self-employed on a con-tract basis using the organization’s brick-making machine.

This was his first job out of high school, and he was able to make around 5,000 Libe-rian dollars (69 USD) per month. He has been saving his earnings for university, and he will be starting his studies in Biology in Fall 2011. Without this income, he doesn’t think he would be able to attend university.

Spotlight on:

JamelWashington

Beneficiaries:

• 22 beneficiaries in total• 5 of the beneficiaries are women and 17

are men• The youngest beneficiary is 16 years old

and the oldest is 33 years old

Location:

The Bricks for Life project is located in com-munities around Monrovia. The project train-ing location was in Peace Island, a region just outside of Monrovia, which has experienced rapid growth in the past decade. The coop-eratives are located in other areas around Monrovia where a lot of reconstruction is taking place.

BFF

“When I came out of high school I had nothing to do… I just want to thank you, YEN and the UN, for helping us to

improve our lives a bit.”

21

Liberia

YouthActionInternational(YAI)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Centre for Women’s Empowerment Grant Size: 40,598 USDType of Organization: Youth led NGOPartnership: Humanity Unites Brilliance (HUB)Project Idea: YAI has developed a Women’s Empowerment cur-

riculum in consultation with a group of top universi-ties including Harvard University. The multi-disciplin-ary programme combines counseling, life skills and vocational training. YAI’s training planned to teach young women skills in one of four areas: jewelry manufacture, shoe production, synthetic hair manu-facturing and tie dying.

Expected Results: 300 women trained in vocational skills and business management. 300 women trained in basic literacy skills 50 new enterprises assisted through micro-loans

Current SituationProject Manager: Kimmie Weeks, 29 yearsBeneficiaries: 176Jobs Created: 176 - either directly employed or received micro-

credit loansMonthly Salaries: Varies according to businessDescription of Jobs:The women were trained to work in various professions, such as tailoring, cosmetology, jewelry making, interior decorating, and baking/pastry mak-ing. Number of Cooperatives: 20Monthly profit: Varies according to siteDescription of Cooperatives:Each of the cooperatives consists of 10 women who were trained in the same field. In addition to the technical and management training, the coops receive micro-credit loans to start their businesses. Impact on Organizational Capacity:The grant allowed the Centre to expand their activities and run the pro-grammes for one year. They have already secured funding from Chevron-Liberia to continue the programme.

ImplementationChallenges:The training was conducted in two terms, but with only one recruitment and selection period. For the second term, many of the women who had been selected were no longer available or interested.

Successes:YAI will continue to run the training following a model of smaller, commu-nity based centres.

“The before and after stories we have heard from the women are our greatest accomplishments. Almost all of the women tell moving stories about how they had no skill and no opportunities before entering the centre, but are now able to get a job and apply the skills”- Kimmie Weeks, Programme Manager22

Decontee Walker, enrolled at YAI’s Centre for Women in the first semester. She en-tered as a 25 year old single mother. Although she had graduated from high school a few years earlier, Decontee had little opportunities to continue her education and very few options for being able to feed her child. When she first heard about the centre, she immediately applied and was accepted. During her time at the centre, Decontee enrolled in the cosmetology class. She par-ticipated heavily in extracurricular activities and was a star in the drama club, and volunteered for community engagements. While at the centre, she quickly excelled to the top of her class and became one of the school’s best hair stylists. Long before she had graduated, she was already taking on small contracts to do hair and makeup for young women in her community. Immediately after she graduated, Decontee went to work for the Patlyn Beauty Home where she earns LD$7,500 (103 USD). Because of high demand for her service as a hair stylist, she is frequently contracted to do engagements, weddings and other special events. As a result, her tips very often triple her base salary. The centre is proud of Decontee Walker, who continues to return to campus to work with new students.

Spotlight on:

DeconteeWalker

Beneficiaries:

• Of the 300 beneficiaries who were recruit-ed for the programme, 176 completed the training

• All of the beneficiaries were women• YAI’s core staff ranges from 21 to 31 years

old, and trainers range from 21 to 56

Location:

Youth Action International’s Centre for Wom-en was run in a centralised location in Mon-rovia for the duration of the Youth to Youth Fund grant. However the Centre has received additional funding from Chevron to continue their training activities in a number of smaller, community based centres.

YAI

23

Liberia

iEARNProject Plan

Name of The Project: Creative Arts For Sustainable Empowerment (CASE) Grant Size: 5,833 USDType of Organization: Youth led NGOPartnership: Trokon’s ProductionProject Idea: CASE proposed to train youth from a slum in

Monrovia to acquire the creative skills to produce portraits, murals and graphic signs for commercial sale. Their training would also include a six month internship and upon graduation the participants would receive an art and design tool kit.

Expected Results: 20 marginalized youth trained in sign-making, graphic design, t-shirt printing, and ICT.A technical working environment and tools to enhance the outcome of Graphic and Fine Arts Skills Training.

Current SituationProject Manager: Leroy M. Beldeh, 31 yearsBeneficiaries: 15Jobs Created: 5 directly employed and 10 self-employedMonthly Salaries: Minimum 40 USDDescription of Jobs:After the training, five of the beneficiaries were selected to work at the newly formed cooperative (The Art Shop). Their activities include t-shirt making, logo design, sign writing, and graphic design. The other ten benefi-ciaries work on independent contracts or on other personal activities.Number of Cooperatives: 1Monthly profit: 285 USDDescription of Cooperatives:The Art Shop solicits contracts from companies and organizations to design and print materials. If the contracts are too much work for the five perma-nent employees, they may sub-contract the work to the other beneficia-ries who completed the training. The cooperative has printed at least 100 t-shirts and 10 billboards or banners per month. Impact on Organizational Capacity:iEARN has also received funding from the US Department of State to con-duct a student exchange programme. They also offer teacher literacy train-ing with support from the Ministry of Education. They would like to expand the Art Shop and offer ongoing training.

ImplementationChallenges:Of the 25 original participants, 5 participants, all female, dropped out of the programme due to domestic problems. Another five did not complete the apprenticeship.Successes:Employees of the Art Shop are considering using their own funds to offer a second round of training programme for other youth.

“We have also gained a lot from the YEN/UNIDO grant implementation module monthly expenditure plan, regular project evaluation and monitoring which have made us to be re-sponsible project managers.”- Leroy Beldeh, Project Manager24

Bill is 21 years old and started working with iEARN Liberia and the Art Shop project in October 2009.

During his training with iEARN, he participated in two training sessions. The first one was on large sign-making and the second was on computer design programmes including MS Word, Publisher, Corel Draw, and Adobe Photoshop. He then partici-pated in a six month long apprenticeship to solidify his skills. He was then hired at the Art Shop, where he works with the four other selected beneficiaries.

Before getting involved in iEARN, Bill was not formally employed and made about 1000 – 2000 Liberian dollars per month (about 13.80 - 27.60 USD). Now, he makes 3000 – 3500 Liberian dollars per month (41.40 - 48.30 USD) and feels confident that his salary will increase as the Art Shop gets more contracts and clients. He also feels that he has grown up a lot – he can feed his family, his status in society has changed, and people are proud of what he and his colleagues are doing in the Art Shop.

Even though he’s working now, Bill still thinks of himself as a student because there is a lot he still has to learn. He would like to continue his training in graphic design to keep up with new trends and new skills to be able to produce more modern designs.

Spotlight on:

BillGibson

Beneficiaries:

• 15 beneficiaries in total• 5 received long-term employment in the

Art Shop• Two of them are women and three are

men• The youngest is 18 and the oldest is 25

years old

Location:

The Art Shop is housed in a cement building in Monrovia, the capital of Liberia, situated on the Atlantic coast. During the 1990s, many people fled Monrovia to escape the violence and pillages of the civil wars. The population has now been restored to just over one mil-lion people.

iEARN

25

Liberia

YouthEducationFoundationInitiative(YEFI)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Transition from School to Work (Job-Shop) Grant Size: 46,000 USDType of Organization: Youth led NGOPartnership: Agency for Economic Development & Empower-

ment (AEDE)Project Idea: YEFI planned to create a database of jobs and well

trained candidates. The organization would offer well qualified graduates complementary training in life skills, job search skills, computer literacy and basic management. YEFI would then market their trainees and provide them with 3 month paid placements and assist them in securing long term employment.

Expected Results: The Job Shop registered and started operations as a recruitment, training and placement agency30 unemployed youth provided with classroom and on-the-job trainingAt least 90% (27) of the participants placed in long-term jobs.

Current SituationProject Manager: J. Guankerwon Gweisah, 29 yearsBeneficiaries: 26 Jobs Created: 30 Monthly Salaries: Varies by employerDescription of Jobs:The Job Shop provided three training programmes: Business skills, Life Skills, and ICT. Beneficiaries received a monthly stipend of 40 USD during the training and 100 USD monthly during their first three months of on the job training. Of the 30 jobs obtained by the beneficiaries, most are office assistants, a few are field jobs, and four of the participants went into micro-businesses for themselves.Number of Cooperatives: NoneImpact on Organizational Capacity:The organization does not currently have active projects as the Project Man-ager is attending a training programme in the US.

ImplementationChallenges:The main obstacles were finding job vacancies, getting a firm commitment from employers for the three month placement, and getting the funding in time for payments.Successes:The business skills and ICT training were the most valuable to job seekers. Four beneficiaries were able to obtain jobs even before the end of the train-ing.

“Because this was our first time to imple-ment such an important programme, we had challenges that YEN/UNIDO actually helped in correcting them.”

- J. Gweisah, Project Manager26

Weyah is a young woman, 26 years old, who is currently working full time as a financial assistant. She applied for the YEFI Job Shop when she had just graduated university and was finding it very difficult to get a job.

She started the training in November 2009 but did not complete the training be-cause she found a job after only a few months. The training helped make the link between school and the outside world by upgrading her skills with training in man-agement and office skills.

Before the training she was unemployed, and in her current job she is earning about 100 USD per month. She thinks the Job Shop project should be continued, since it helps people straight out of university to access the job market.

Spotlight on:

WeyahMassaley

Beneficiaries:

• 30 beneficiaries started the programme and 26 finished

• Of those who started, 12 were women and 18 were men

• The beneficiaries’ ages ranged from 20 to 29 years old

Location:

The YEFI Job Shop takes place in Monrovia. The participants were recruited from impov-erished communities such as New Kru Town, West Point, and Logan town. The training itself took place in the facilities of each of the training providers hired by YEFI.

YEFI

“The training helped me to start my life.”

27

Côted’Ivoire

FraternitéSolidaritéJeunesse(FSJ)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Raising and processing Giant African snailsGrant Size: 7,500 USDType of Organization: CooperativePartnership: The Mayor of Agou (provision of land and office

space for training) ANADER (Agence Nationale d’ Appui au Développe-ment Rural)

Project Idea: Fraternité Solidarité Jeunesse (FSJ) wanted to train young women in breeding snails and simplified accounting. FSJ would construct a shed for snail breeding and provide the young women with 500 snails to start breeding. Snails are very popular in the commune of Agou where the project is based and FSJ believed that with the training and starter set of snails the young women would be able to produce 15,000 snails for sale.

Expected Results: 15 young women trained in cultivating achatina snailsCooperative formed consisting of 15 young women15,000 full grown snails ready for sale after 5 months of the project

Current SituationProject Manager: Mohamed CompaoréBeneficiaries: 15Jobs Created: 15Monthly Salaries: Average: 90 USDDescription of Jobs:The beneficiaries are all women, and their work is raising giant African snails, and then selling them on the markets and directly to food services. Number of Cooperatives: 1Monthly profit: Approximately 2,200 USDDescription of Cooperatives:The cooperative is in Agou. At the end of the project, the snail farm was handed over to the women who continue to operate it independently. Impact on Organizational Capacity:FSJ has received new funding from CEDEAO and Spain for a project on mi-grations and development.

ImplementationChallenges:The delay between the announcement of the grant recipients and the first disbursement was very long.

Successes:FSJ felt that the project significantly improved their organizational capacity and they continue to apply for additional funding.

“[This project] gave us the chance to share an enriching experience with the beneficiaries – that of working in a rural environment.”

- Mohamed Compaoré, Project Manager (translated from French)

28

Mohamed is 33 years old and project coordinator for FSJ. He has a bachelor’s de-gree and gained an additional two years of higher education in communication and business. Mohamed was particularly delighted to launch this project as it affects central Côte d’Ivoire, a region which contains a high concentration of unemployed rural youth.

The political crisis was thus a grave threat to the continuation of this project and the coming months all efforts will be made to re-launch it.

Spotlight on:

MohamedCompaoré

Beneficiaries:

• 15 beneficiaries in total• All the beneficiaries are women• Youngest beneficiary is 18 years old and

the oldest is 37

Location:

The project is located in Agou which is a small town located near the city of Adzopé. The mayor of Agou has supervised the promo-tion of the project in the villages surrounding Agou, the final selection process and also provided the land for escargot cultivation.

FSJ

29

Côted’IvoireGNIHONDE

Project PlanName of The Project: Construction of 30 ovens for smoked fishGrant Size: 49,865 USDType of Organization: Youth development NGO

Partnership: Mayor of Grand Bassam (provision of land) Club Shalom

Project Idea: Gnihonde planned to introduce the Chorkor oven to thee towns in Côte d’Ivoire. This oven has been proven to reduce, by over 50%, the amount of wood fuel required to smoke fish, increase the quality of the smoked fish, and reduce the negative health impacts related to smoking fish. Gnihonde’s project targeted young women who were already work-ing in this sector. Gnihonde would build 30 ovens for the beneficiaries and train them on how to use them. Furthermore, during the construction phase five young masons would gain on-the-job training on building the Chorkor ovens thus creating addi-tional employment opportunities for young people in the area.

Expected Results: 30 smoking ovens built (10 in Grand Bassam, 10 in Duekoue, and 10 in Bangolo)30 marginalized young women employed 5 young masons employed (short-term employ-ment)2 unemployed university graduates employed as trainers and mentors (longer-term employment)

Current SituationProject Manager: Willy Franck Oula, 29 yearsBeneficiaries: 60Jobs Created: 60Monthly Salaries: Average: 130 USDDescription of Jobs:Five young men were hired to build the ovens, which was a temporary posi-tion. Sixty young women were trained in the technical skills for fish smoking and also basic business skills like simple accounting. Each oven is shared by two beneficiaries to produce the smoked fish.Number of Cooperatives: 3Monthly profit: 105 USDDescription of Cooperatives:Each of the three cooperatives is in a different location: Grand Bassam, Bangolo, and Duékoué. The cooperatives buy the raw fish and resell them locally twice a week after smoking them. Impact on Organizational Capacity:The organization is now working in partnership with another NGO special-izing in fishing for their supply of fresh fish. They are also working on a project to acquire freezers.

ImplementationChallenges:There were some delays in the disbursements of funding, which in turn dis-rupted the activities of the organization. In addition, two of the sites were destroyed in the recent crisis so only one cooperative remains functional.Successes:Gnihonde was able to double their number of women beneficiaries due to the high demand, as well as create numerous indirect jobs.

“Our most important achievement is that through this project we were able to improve the standard of living and working for these young women […] and create direct and indirect jobs.”- Nahi Joëlle, Project Manager (translated from French)

30

Koné is 28 years old, married and mother of two children. She started working un-der this project in 2009.

Up to that point the family income had come from her husband’s work as a wood cutter in the forest and from her fish smoking job. She had used the traditional method of preservation for smoking fish and the sources of income had been mea-ger.

The new work in a cooperative, using more technically advanced ovens and pres-ervation methods, allowed her to earn more income. The only hindrance was the perception of these advanced fish smokers in the community, as the traditional smokers feared competition. The aim was, however, to integrate more and more fish smokers as the project expanded.

With the political crisis in the country, the project was interrupted but is hoped to be resumed once the situation has stabilised again.

Spotlight on:

KonéJenève

Beneficiaries:

• 60 beneficiaries in total• 6 men and 54 women• Youngest is 18 years and oldest is 35 years

Location:

The three cooperatives are located in three different areas of Côte d’Ivoire – Bangolo, Grand Bassam, and Duékoué. Bangolo and Duékoué are in the interior of the country, in the west, while Grand-Bassam is on the coast to the East of Abdijan.

Gnihonde

31

Côted’Ivoire

UnionDesJeunesd’ILO-Vanou(UJIV)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Beach cleaning and tourism developmentGrant Size: 26,405 USDType of Organization: Youth entrepreneurship

Partnership: Mayor of Port-Bouet (provided land)Project Idea: Union de Jeunes de l’Ilot Vanou (UJIV) have 3 km

of beach front property that they planned to use to create new employment opportunities for youth in the area. UJIV proposed to clean this land and pre-pare for welcoming tourists. The youth association would hire youth with experience in the hospitality industry to work in and manage the beach, restau-rants and bungalows.

Expected Results: 46 direct-employment opportunities created3 km of beach cleaned and restored6 restaurants and 20 bungalows established on the beach

Current SituationProject Manager: Jean-Louis Boua, 29 years.Beneficiaries: 27Jobs Created: 19Monthly Salaries: Highest: 110 USD

Lowest: 66 USDDescription of Jobs:Ten youth are employed in maintaining the cleanliness of the beach. The other nine jobs are in the one restaurant that was constructed, including cooks, servers, accountant and manager. The remaining eight beneficiaries should be employed in a second restaurant, but the construction has been delayed due to the post-election crisis. Number of Cooperatives: 1Monthly profit: 1,758 USDDescription of Cooperatives:The cooperative operates a restaurant and bungalows on a 3 km stretch of beach. The youth cleaned the beach and maintain it, and they built and equipped the restaurant and bungalows. All the youth were trained in basic business skills and assisted in the construction of the restaurant. Impact on Organizational Capacity:The training that the Fund provided and the management experience of the project gave the organization the necessary skills to confront the various challenges of the project.

ImplementationChallenges:Given the slow implementation of the project, some of the participants lost their motivation and dropped out. Furthermore, during the post election crisis the restaurant was pillaged and robbed, so currently all the activities of UNIJ are on hold. Successes:UNIJ was able to overcome various obstacles (such as obtaining the re-quired permits) to construct and run the restaurant.

“Before the YEN/UNIDO grant, we were just beginners. But now the proj-ects have enabled us to have more experience, to better understand the issues related to project implementation and to provide effective solu-tions to address them.”- Jean-Louis Boua, Project Manager (translated from French)

32

Blaguet is 33 years old and started working under this project in 2009.

Previously she had been trained in how to operate a cash register in supermarkets and pharmacies but had been without work since 2000. She was born in rural Côte d’Ivoire and moved to Port-Bouet in 1999. Her background allowed her to work in the main restaurant constructed under this project where she can apply business and accountancy related skills.

Her goal is to save enough money and open up a cosmetic store in the future. Due to the political crisis, this project has also been on hold and will hopefully be re-launched after the situation has calmed down.

Spotlight on:

BlaguetMireille

Beneficiaries:

• 27 beneficiaries in total• 10 of the beneficiaries are women and 17

are men• The youngest is 18 and the oldest is 34

years old

Location:

The project is situated on the beachside of Port-Bouet near Abidjan. The plot of land given to the project by the mayor of the mu-nicipality is large with tall palm trees growing in rows and the water provides for excellent surfing conditions.

UJIV

33

SierraLeone

KlinSaloneWasteManagementAssociation(KSWMA)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Employment Promotion and Private Waste Manage-ment

Grant Size: 23,595 USDType of Organization: Youth led NGO

Partnership: German Technical Cooperation (GTZ)Project Idea: The Klin Salone Youth Umbrella Association helps

youth to organize themselves into functional groups with the view of engaging them in sustain-able income generating activities in the private waste management sector. Klin Salone provides technical and organizational assistance to the groups including training in waste management, organizational development, marketing and book-keeping, coaching of their marketing activities, and assistance in obtaining contracts with private and public clients.

Expected Results: 150 youths in Bo, Makeni and Freetown trained and employed3000 households in Bo, Makeni and Freetown sub-scribed to private waste collection15 private waste collection initiatives are organised and follow common professional standards.

Current SituationProject Manager: Musa SesayBeneficiaries: 100Jobs Created: 100Monthly Salaries: Average: 40 USDDescription of Jobs:80 of the youth work as waste collectors and 20 work as marketers.Number of Cooperatives: 10Monthly profit: Approx. 120 USD per cooperativeDescription of Cooperatives:Each cooperative deals with all aspects of waste collection: reaching out to potential clients, coordinating collectors, conducting collection and delivery to waste collection sites.Impact on Organizational Capacity:Capacity of member groups was built by providing them with start-up tools, equipment and technical support. The organization is now better placed to mobilize additional funding and has already done so.

ImplementationChallenges:It is essential to provide more training to beneficiaries and do larger scale marketing; expansion of activities to operate in Makeni and the acquisition of a skip truck is a target.Successes:A cleaner Sierra Leone and job creation for highly disadvantaged youths; an awareness has been created to clean up neighbourhoods and increase the level of youth participation in community projects.

“Through the grant, employment was created for some of the most marginalized and impoverished youths in Freetown who are now earning a decent income.”

- Musa Sesay, Project Manager34

Daniel is 25 years old and started working as a waste collector under this project in August 2010. Most of his fellow youths involved in waste collection work in desolate conditions: their income can hardly sustain their livelihoods , they are not protected against the dirt and they constantly breathe in the smoke from burning rubbish on Freetown’s biggest waste disposal site.

Before starting to work, Daniel was provided with new tools and equipment and other protective gear such as boots, a nose mask, hand gloves and a medical kit. He also received training in the how to use the equipment and was familiarized with the business idea: marketing strategies to attract more clients. Daniel’s income be-fore taking on this job amounted to around 35 USD a month and has now increased to around 58 USD.

The waste collection services offered by the cooperatives have been widely accept-ed in the Freetown suburbs and demand is rising. The only problem is the percep-tion by other youth waste collectors who are employed by the public services and earning significantly less. Daniel hopes that as the project is expanding and access-ing new markets, a greater number of youths can be absorbed and also benefit from this initiative.

Spotlight on:

DanielK.Sesay

Beneficiaries:

• 100 beneficiaries• 25 are women and 75 are men• The youngest is 19 and the oldest 35 years

old

Location:

The 80 waste collectors and 20 marketing agents are distributed over 10 cooperatives in both Freetown and Bo (5 in each town). The need for waste collection services is high in these cities where public services cannot meet the large demand. The project was also meant to be launched in Makeni but the city council has postponed authorization until an-other skip truck can be purchased. But pros-pects are good for getting started in Makeni after the 50th anniversary celebrations.

KlinSalone

35

SierraLeone

KafoimaYouthDevelopmentOrganization(KAYDO)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Mapaki Youth Training And Manufacturing CentreGrant Size: 48,778 USDType of Organization: Youth led NGO

Partnership: Centre for Development and Peace EducationProject Idea: KaYDO’s project planned to offer a training pro-

gramme in manufacturing. Afterwards, the more entrepreneurial youth will receive a start-up loan. Those youth trained in construction would receive both on-the-job training as they assist in building KaYDO’s Youth Center and the option to be hired by one of KaYDO’s partners, a local construction company. The remaining youth would be employed by KaYDO’s production and marketing center which will produce goods for sale through their network of fair trade distributors in North America.

Expected Results: 100 youth trained in small-scale manufacturing 35 youths contracted by YakoYako, 35 youths in KYDO cooperative, and 30 youth recieve microloans

Current SituationProject Manager: Patrick Umar KoromaBeneficiaries: 90Jobs Created: 6Monthly Salaries: Average: 50 USDDescription of Jobs:Carpentry, tailoring, soap-making, gara-tie dyeing, weaving, blacksmithing and basic IT work for marketing purposes.Number of Cooperatives: 3Monthly profit: Approx. 70 USD in totalDescription of Cooperatives:Each cooperative has an average of 500 USD inflow every month. One deals with vegetable processing (250 USD inflow) and clothing (20-25 USD), one with carpentry (25-50 USD), weaving (50 USD) and soap making (100 USD) and another with blacksmithing (150-200 USD).Impact on Organizational Capacity:The grant was used to increase the capacity of youth beneficiaries, provid-ing them with livelihood skills, equipment and space to learn and do busi-ness. The organization’s capacity in project management and implementa-tion was significantly increasedImplementation

Challenges:Refine budgeting and reporting modalities for each cooperative to strength-en the internal M&E work; liaise more closely with Ministry of Education and multilateral organizations to win support (under CSR schemes) and expand the business.Successes:An established and operational centre for vocational skills training; 90 youth beneficiaries trained; participatory planning and implementation within the community.

“The grant scheme benefits youth who otherwise would have highly limited access to funding. Our beneficiaries obtained valuable reporting and financial management skills and improved their quality of life.”

- Patrick Koroma, Project Manager36

Adama is 28 years old and has been working under this project in Bombali District since August 2009.

He is dealing with multiple tasks concerning the manufacturing of goods: tailoring, gara-tie dyeing, soap-making and occasionally blacksmithing. Adama is grateful for receiving technical training and the opportunity to start his own business. He has become self-reliant because of this project and is able to take care of his family, in particular allowing his children to attend school.

Before being employed under this project, Adama earned less than 12 USD a month and is income has now increased to around 46 USD a month. Adama is confident that the business will expand in the near future with access to funding so that more equipment can be purchased for the workshops.

Spotlight on:

AdamaThullah

Beneficiaries:

• 90 beneficiaries in total• 40 women and 50 men• The youngest is 18, the oldest 32 years old

Location:

The project’s cooperatives are located within Paki-Masabong Chiefdom, Bombali District. KA

YDO

37

SierraLeone

KenemaDistrictYouthDevelopmentAgency(KEYDA)Project Plan

Name of The Project: Women In Sustainable Bee-Keeping ActivitiesGrant Size: 22,483 USDType of Organization: Cooperative

Partnership: Kenema District Youth CouncilProject Idea: KEYDA aimed to train young women in six chief-

doms to become bee keepers. In addition to an in-depth training programme the young women would receive the necessary equipment to start collecting honey and wax.

Expected Results: 60 youths trained in sustainable bee-keeping.600 catcher boxes installed for bee-keeping activi-ties.7,200 gallons of honey collected, transported and sold18 large containers of wax sold

Current SituationProject Manager: Mark M. GbongoBeneficiaries: 60Jobs Created: 60Monthly Salaries: Average: 70 USDDescription of Jobs:The 60 youth are involved in all stages of beekeeping: each one is in charge of 10 hives and carries out maintenance, harvesting, honey production and marketing.Number of Cooperatives: 6Monthly profit: Approximately 58 USDDescription of Cooperatives:Each cooperative has 100 catcher boxes from which they produce honey. They sell approximately 150 gallons of honey every month, and are hoping to expand into other areas such as selling the bees’ wax.Impact on Organizational Capacity:It has increased significantly and further funding - 20,000 USD - was secured from the Sierra Leone Business Bomba Award in 2011. Implementation

Challenges:Securing bees to stay in hives and provide cover against rain. At the begin-ning the bees did not stay in the hives during the rainy season and produc-tion fell dramatically. The bees were recollected and the hives were given special protection.Successes:The organization was able to overcome the initial challenges and the busi-ness has become very profitable. They have received further funding to expand their activities (such as entering the market in Freetown).

“The grant scheme allowed a large number beneficiaries to obtain business skills, management abilities and led to wealth creation in rural communities.”

- Mark Gbongo, Project Manager38

Watta is 23 years old and was employed under this project in September 2009.

She says that she received adequate training in bee keeping and management and was supplied with 10 hives and protective material. Before starting to work as bee-keeper, Watta earned around 20 USD a month, which has now increased to around 38 USD.

The project has not only had an impact on her life in terms of increased income but also given her confidence to maintain employment. Watta feels that the acquired management skills and sense of responsibility as a self-employed person will allow her to shape her professional future, generate enough income and help improve living conditions in her community.

Spotlight on:

WattaKallon

Beneficiaries:

• 60 female beneficiaries in total who were trained and received long term employ-ment

• The youngest is 16 years old and the old-est in her late thirties

Location:

The beekeeping cooperatives of this project are located in the five chiefdoms of Kenema district: Nongowa, Dama, Gaura, Koya and Malegohun in Eastern Sierra Leone. These ru-ral communities are characterized by mainly agricultural activity with many people living underneath the poverty line.

KEYDA

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Youth Employment Network for West Africa

Dakar, Senegal(221) 33 825 9336yen-wa@ilo.orgwww.ilo.org

United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

Vienna International CentreP.O. Box 300, 1400 Vienna, Austria

(43) 26026-0unido@unido.org

www.unido.org