Daring to Shift: Young Women at the Centre of Inclusive Growth

The project aims to enhance the resilience and economic inclusion of participating unemployed and underemployed youth (between the ages of 18 and 35) and their communities in regions of sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East. The project works to develop and support the leadership and decision-making power of young women to enable them to thrive and take advantage of economic opportunities despite barriers that they face. The project takes an innovative approach to scaling-up youth empowerment leadership and social entrepreneurship. The main project activities are taking place in Jordan Kenya Lebanon Rwanda and Tanzania while also deepening and extending them in Ghana Malawi Uganda and Zambia with support from a youth-led digital innovation team in South Africa. Project activities include: (1) co-develop with and provide learning programs for youth in leadership digital skills and innovation gender equality social innovation and entrepreneurship; (2) offer community placements to young women so they can train local partners and collaborators to develop gender responsive policies and programs; (3) create linkages between the private sector and governments to develop policies and programs to close the gender digital divide (inequality for women and girls with regard to the access use and impact of technology); (4) train DOT local partners to act as regional hubs that identify execute and scale youth leadership social entrepreneurship and social innovation programs that are gender responsive; and (5) test new business models with DOT local partners and collaborators in Ghana Malawi Uganda and Zambia.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) increased leadership of young women and men to advance gender equitable social or economic development; (2) strengthened enabling environments supporting young women-led social innovation and economic empowerment; and (3) increased scale of gender-responsive social or economic impact led by youth.