Increasing economic opportunities for youth in Uganda and Tanzania

This project aims to increase economic opportunities for youth (30 and under) in Uganda and Tanzania through financial inclusion and entrepreneurship. It seeks to address the socio-economic inclusion of youth and particularly marginalized and vulnerable young women in target countries by enhancing their skills financial inclusion and employability ultimately contributing to economic growth and reducing poverty for themselves and their families. Project activities include: (1) providing vocational training and employment enhancement initiatives to youth especially marginalized and vulnerable young women; (2) strengthening financial literacy of youth in particular marginalized and vulnerable young women through financial and non-financial products directly targeting their needs; and (3) enabling youth especially marginalized and vulnerable young women to apply the skills that they have gained to start a new business or expand pre-existing enterprises. The project aims to reach as many as 41 000 youth (30 years and under) of which at least half are young women including those who are marginalized and vulnerable. It is expected that as many as 20 000 youth access financial products and services to help them start a new business or expand pre-existing enterprises leading to the creation of just as many new employment opportunities for the youth in Uganda and Tanzania.

The expected outcomes of this project include: (1) improved youth employability especially for marginalized and vulnerable women in Uganda and Tanzania; (2) increased financial inclusion of youth especially marginalized and vulnerable women in Uganda and Tanzania; and (3) improved provision of gender-equal financial services to youth particularly marginalized and vulnerable women by FINCA Uganda and FINCA Tanzania.