Over 10 million youth enter Africa’s labor market each year, yet only 3 million formal jobs are available, making it an uphill battle for most youth to secure decent employment. Compound this problem with mismatches between labor market supply and demand — and the informal nature of African economies — and it is no wonder that 30 percent of youth are unemployed and over half of those in the labor market are underemployed.

Most observers agree that the African labor market cannot absorb the growing number of job market entrants. Many youth-serving organizations (YSOs) and others believe that self-employment and entrepreneurship provide better economic opportunities for young people, while creating jobs for their peers. In theory, this may be true. But in practice, the potential of entrepreneurship training has not been fully realized.

How can we combine training and financial inclusion to unleash youth potential? Read this CGAP blog, where UNCDF Youth Regional Specialist Ata Cisse tries to give the answer.