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Scaling Youth Entrepreneurship in Africa: A Multi-Stakeholder Approach for Developing Local Ecosystems
Across Africa, governments and development actors are investing in youth entrepreneurship, with funders and international NGOs increasingly partnering with local non-profits to develop better support ecosystems for young entrepreneurs. But as Grégory Valadié and Juan Carlos Thomas at TechnoServe explain, many of these local organizations face limitations in capacity, systems and tools. They explore four ways to maximize these partnerships’ impact by complementing their direct implementation work with systems-level solutions, and leveraging institutions that already reach young people at scale.
- Categories
- Education
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Namibia Will Offer Free University Education Starting in 2026
New Namibian President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah announced Thursday that her government will introduce free higher education at state universities and technical colleges starting next year.
- Categories
- Education
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- academia, business education, youth
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Rethinking Education to Re-Engage Youth: Why It’s Time to Focus on Practical Skill Building
In 2023, 20% of youth globally were not involved in employment, education or training — and there is a concerning skills gap, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Meanwhile, the supply of educated youth is exceeding the supply of skilled jobs in many LMICs, forcing young workers to seek lower-paying jobs unrelated to their education and skills. Jessica Crist at SDG Academy explores these challenges, and explains why they're driving the need for a new approach to higher education, focused on practical skill-building and non-traditional formats like online courses, short-term programs and professional training.
- Categories
- Education, Technology
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Building Better Business Advisory Programs: Five Lessons from an Inclusive Marketing Bootcamp
Inclusive business models involve integrating low-income communities into the value chain as suppliers, distributors, retailers or consumers. As this approach has gained traction, advisory programs have emerged to help companies adopt and scale these practices. Beryl Oyier, Catherine Mwangi, Eyerusalem Mitiku and Rakib Hasan Rabbi at Bopinc share insights from an inclusive marketing program in Africa, highlighting five key lessons for designing more impactful inclusive business advisory programs.
- Categories
- Agriculture, Social Enterprise
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Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship Awards Fundación Paraguaya with 2024 Social Impact Excellence Award
Fundación Paraguaya has been a part of the Miller Center social impact community for almost 20 years, participating in 5 programs since 2005.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise
- Region
- Global
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Press Release: Goldman Sachs, IFC Partner With African Banks to Empower Women Entrepreneurs in Africa
Under the partnership, nine financial institutions from across Africa have agreed to join the 10,000 Women initiative.
- Categories
- Education
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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Press Release: WDI Receives Grant to Connect Young People Through Virtual Exchange
Today, the Stevens Initiative announced the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan is one of nine schools, higher education institutions, and nonprofit organizations to receive funding to run virtual exchange programs that connect young people in the United States and the Middle East and North Africa. The programs will help reach 8,000 young people along with the new J. Christopher Stevens Virtual Exchange Initiative Grantees, supported by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.
- Categories
- Education, Environment
- Region
- Global
- Tags
- academia, business education, youth
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The Problem with ‘Forced Entrepreneurship’: How Universities — and Venture Capitalists — are Failing Climate Tech Innovators
Universities are increasingly positioning themselves as hubs of business innovation, and as Emre Eren Korkmaz at the University of Oxford explains, their support has become an important driver of climate tech innovation. But he argues that universities’ "one size fits all" approach to supporting these innovators is fundamentally flawed, prioritizing the pathway to entrepreneurship — and the demands of venture capitalists — rather than empowering true innovation. He explores the problem and highlights some alternative approaches.
- Categories
- Education, Environment, Investing, Social Enterprise, Technology
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