Driving dignified and fulfilling work with young people

The global youth unemployment rate is estimated at 13.1%, with the highest prevalence in Africa and Asia. For young people in fragile contexts and disadvantaged groups, economic empowerment and employment can help overcome significant barriers to entering the labour market.

SNV has partnered with the Mastercard Foundation to address this challenge. Together, we're driving programmes that advance dignified and fulfilling employment for youth in the agri-food and related sectors across Kenya, Rwanda, and Ethiopia. The programmes apply a market systems development approach to facilitate access to opportunities for young people. Through SNV’s Access, Match, Grow, and Enable (AMGE) contextual framework, the programmes advance market-driven approaches, grow young people’s skills and agency, match young people to finance and assets, and enable inclusive systems transformation.

By putting young women, persons with disabilities, and other marginalised groups at the centre of this work, these programmes aim to build lasting pathways to dignified employment and entrepreneurship for the young people.

Ethiopia’s population of approximately 135.5 million, is comprised of a large young demographic with nearly 39% of the population being under the age of 15 (UNFPA, 2025). While two million young people enter the workforce annually (World Bank, 2024), the current economy struggles to generate enough jobs to meet this demand. This widening gap leaves a significant portion of the youth population at risk of unemployment.  

To address this challenge, the agricultural sector offers a promising pathway for employment and poverty alleviation. However, according to the Ethiopia Country Roadmap, rural young women and persons with disabilities face unique systemic barriers that hinder their entrepreneurial potential.

RAYEE II is a five-year program, in its second phase of implementation, that aims to reach one million young people (80% rural young women) and create dignified, fulfilling employment for 800,000 rural young people in the agri-food and related sectors. 

While Rwanda's youth unemployment rate has declined in recent years, the gender gap in unemployment remains entrenched. In 2025, 24.5% of young people were not in employment, education, or training (NISR). This national figure masks a disparity by gender: 18.3% of young men were not in employment, education, or training, compared to 30.5% of young women (NISR). Similarily, persons with disabilities face steep barriers to employment.

The arid and semi-arid land (ASALs) cover nearly 80% of Kenya’s landmass and support 70% of the national livestock herd. However, this vital sector is under constant threat: climate-induced shocks such as recurrent droughts and flash floods undermine livelihoods, exposing households to devastating socio-economic losses.

Inequalities deepen these vulnerabilities. Women, particularly adolescent girls, women with disabilities, refugees, and those from low socio-economic backgrounds, face multiple deprivations, with 65% living in poverty compared to 56% of men. Youth unemployment is equally stark—64% of unemployed Kenyans are young people, with 40% of them in the ASALs.

Through its partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, SNV is advancing programmes that seek to expand dignified and fulfilling employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for young men and women across Ethiopia, Rwanda, and Kenya. The implementation of RAYEE II, YEA-R, and CASHA reflects a shared commitment to sustainable economic growth, climate resilience and inclusive livelihoods. By working through public, private and youth partnerships in country, the programmes continue to strengthen local ecosystems to advance youth employment, sustainably and at scale.