One million Africans will benefit from digital jobs or training after The Rockefeller Foundation announced a US$100 million fund for the continent’s ICT sector.
Digital Jobs Africa was unveiled by Judith Rodin, president of the foundation, in Cape Town yesterday (Thursday).
The funds will be aimed at those young people who would not otherwise have had an opportunity for sustainable employment and is a natural progression from the foundation’s work in the last three years out of its Africa regional office in Nairobi, Kenya.
Rodin said: “Digital Jobs Africa recognizes the enormous talent pool of young people in Africa who lack access to quality sustainable employment opportunities – and seeks to catalyze opportunities to close that gap.
“Innovative, energetic and better informed African youth have the potential to drive economic growth and development, and this new initiative will marry that potential with the growth of technology to increase much needed employment opportunities.”
The number of Africans aged between 15 and 24 is expected to double to 400 million by 2045 and sixty per cent of young people on the continent are unemployed.
The initiative aims to create an “enabling environment” and connect governments and businesses so as to ensure there is not the “constant need” for philanthropy.
Digital jobs, highlighted by the initiative, include data entry, service centre support, online research and web design with the aim being to bridge the gap between high potential job seekers who require “technical and soft skills” and companies needing talent to expand their business.
