Nigeria
“I want other women to know that we can do anything we want to if we put our minds to it.”
Yoma: Youth Agency Marketplace for the African region and beyond
Connecting African youth to opportunity and community
Yoma is a digital platform connecting youth around the globe with opportunities for skills acquisition, community engagement, and employment. Providing access to programmes designed for and with young people, Yoma taps into the creative and entrepreneurial potential of Africa’s youth, while connecting young people with learning and earning opportunities specifically focusing on 21st century skills. Since the platform’s launch in June 2020, Yoma has engaged over 305,000 young people.Various projects have challenged youth to generate ideas that help address issues faced in their communities, including protecting people from COVID-19, fighting plastic pollution, climate change, mental health and reimagining the future for young people.
- Pan-African
Over 14,700 young people have completed different impact tasks in their communities and earned certificates validating their job-relevant skills and enhancing their employability.
Additionally, more than 370 digital learners have been provided with employment and livelihood-related opportunities.
Challenge
60% of Africa’s population is under the age of 25, making it the youngest continent in the world. A young population offers huge potential to society – from health to education to business – but currently young people are hindered by a lack of opportunity. For example, they account for 60% of Africa’s unemployed, and this figure is expected to worsen as the population further increases. In securing work opportunities, young people face barriers including a lack of formal education and/or work experience, financial hardship, and difficulty accessing relevant, quality information.
Solution
Digital learning platform Yoma connects young people with learning opportunities, potential future employers, social impact organisations, and local and national governments. The platform prioritises young people’s online safety, using ethical and privacy-preserving technology as it delivers learning pathways. Users receive positive reinforcement as they complete tasks, gaining tokens that can be redeemed in a digital or physical marketplace for goods such as airtime and data. Young people’s learning journeys are securely stored on the platform in a digital passport that they can fill with skills and credentials.
To channel youth energy, creativity, and ideas, project partners design programmes with – as well as for – young people, and youth voices are included in Yoma’s governance structure.
Driving social impact in Nigeria
Yoma successfully recruited and trained over 13,000 volunteers to digitally register 3 million children aged 0-5 years in Nigeria, encouraged over 42,000 individuals to get vaccinated, and engaged with five prominent tertiary institutions. These accomplishments highlight Yoma’s significant impact on social causes and its contribution to personal growth and development among Nigerian youth.
Resources
Yoma
Website
Impact Generation
Video