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The Rise (and Rise) of the Gig Economy in Kenya – And How to Take It to the Next Level
The gig economy is growing fast in East Africa, fueled by a young population and burgeoning mobile and smartphone penetration. Countries like Kenya now have gig platforms offering everything from taxi rides to cleaners and handymen, and analysts say this is only the beginning. Gituku Ngene at Google.org Youth Impact Labs explores the gig economy's growing impact, the barriers it faces – and solutions that could unlock its full potential.
- Categories
- Social Enterprise, Technology
- Tags
- employment, gig economy, youth
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Next-Generation African Leaders Announced As Winners Of The Resolution Social Venture Challenge
Winning projects address a wide range of challenges Scholars have observed first-hand in their communities, including financial literacy among rural women, access to nutritious foods in orphanages, and safe and affordable biomedical devices to reduce the impact of preventable diseases.
- Categories
- Uncategorized
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tags
- youth
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How Pacific Life Lost Its Bet on Socially Minded Millennials
In surveys, people in their 20s and 30s say they’re eager to invest in line with their values, but the short life of Swell suggests that the financial services industry has been wrong about how ready they are to do so -- and how prudent it is to help them try.
- Categories
- Investing
- Tags
- ESG, impact investing, youth
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MSMEs Are the Backbone of Developing Economies: New Research Shows How Digital Platforms Can Boost Their Impact
To keep pace with the growing youth population, 600 million new jobs must be created globally over the next 15 years. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) will be key to that effort, say Alina Kaiser at Caribou Digital and Annabel Schiff at the Mastercard Foundation’s FiDA Partnership. They explore how digital platforms can boost MSMEs in emerging markets, based on learnings from 27 micro-entrepreneurs in Kenya.
- Categories
- Technology
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Millennials Are Changing the Future of Investment and Here’s How
Despite their reputation for laziness, most of them work hard and feel strongly about wanting their work to be meaningful and bring huge returns.
- Categories
- Investing
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Four Ways to Support Vulnerable Youth: Key Takeaways from a Six-Year Livelihood Program
The world’s current generation of 1.8 billion young people is the largest in history. But harnessing this demographic dividend has proven difficult, as youth unemployment rates have remained persistently high for the last decade. Save the Children’s recently concluded Youth in Action program was designed to improve the socioeconomic status of 40,000 out-of-school youth in rural Africa. To find out how well it worked, the organization embedded 32 studies into the program. It recently shared the results – and Nikhit D’Sa discusses four lessons from the findings.
- Categories
- Education
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Interview: The African youth boom: what’s worrying Bill Gates
The philanthropist warns that stability in Africa makes a huge difference to the world, and that investing in the health and education of its young people is vital.
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
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A Generational Challenge: What We’ve Learned About Addressing Youth Unemployment
Youth unemployment is a pressing issue in developed countries, but in emerging economies, the situation is even more dire. Unemployment rates of 20 percent or higher are common, with some countries reaching as high as 50 percent. Effective solutions will require an urgent, concentrated and collaborative effort, say Emily Coppel of BRAC USA and Patricia Langan of Save the Children. They outline three key lessons for addressing this challenge, previewing a Sept. 24 forum where some of the top development organizations, research institutes and donors will discuss a path forward.
- Categories
- Impact Assessment