WASHINGTON, June 25, 2021 - The World Bank Group approved $80 million in financing for the Burundi Skills for Jobs: Women and Youth project (Burundi Skills4Jobs). The project aims at improving access and market relevance of supported skills development training and entrepreneurship opportunities for youth and women, including refugees.
The project is designed with a focus on relevant and modern-day innovative skills for youth and women to help them meet the changing needs of the world of work and digital economy. The number of direct beneficiaries is estimated at 120,000 over the project period, including 16,000 refugees.
“Burundi Skills for Jobs: Women and Youth is the first of a series of projects aiming at supporting job creation for women and youth, with a focus on digital skills. It supports activities that will prepare them for the new job market.” said Jean Christophe Carret, World Bank Country Director for Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe.
The project will build a foundation for digital skills and invest in apprenticeship and entrepreneurship while partnering with the private sector. It will also support the creation of a new Institute of Computer Science/Computer Engineering and Digital Transformation, anchored at the University of Burundi in partnership with world class universities. This constitutes an innovative shift in the design and delivery of relevant skills for employability for years to come.
The project’s success will be evaluated on indicators such as the number of students obtaining certification from new, revised programs developed in technical and vocational education and training in collaboration with the private sector ,the number of youths obtaining recognized skills certification after completing an informal apprenticeship, the number of students with advanced digital skills competencies at university level as well as the number of young entrepreneurs who created new startups as a result of support received through the project.
The financing for the Burundi Skills4Jobs is funded through IDA and will be implemented over five years.
* The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives. IDA is one of the largest sources of assistance for the world’s 76 poorest countries, 39 of which are in Africa. Resources from IDA bring positive change to the 1.6 billion people who live in IDA countries. Since 1960, IDA has supported development work in 113 countries. Annual commitments have averaged about $21 billion over the last three years, with about 61 percent going to Africa.
