Andrew
Online Reporter
ZIMBABWE is one of the three countries benefitting from a US$6 million global project that is funded by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) through the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the UN (FAO).
The project – ‘Green Jobs for Rural Youth Employment (GJ4RYE) – is expected to provide disadvantaged youths in rural areas with decent and green job opportunities.
The project, which has been running from December 2019 to June 2024, is currently in its pilot phase, and is also being implemented in Sierra Leone and Timor Leste.
Locally, rural youth beneficiaries of 18 and 35 years were selected by FAO, together with a committee comprising Government stakeholders and community leaders to participate in the project.
They were selected from Chegutu, Chimanimani, Kariba, Kwekwe, Marondera and Mazowe.
Thirty-nine percent of the selected youth opted to be hired in a Public Employment Programme (PEP), where they will receive a monthly stipend, while 61 percent opted to set up a green business start-up, where they will be provided with seed money and mentorship support.
Said FAO representative for Zimbabwe, Mr Patrice Talla: “The second type of support we provide is to ensure that the youths’ businesses are financially sustainable, which we call Mentorship B.
“For this business sustainability component, we are working with Fine Touch Development Trust (FTDT), which has previous experiences in supporting rural youth pursue their start-ups.”
“By empowering marginalised youths, the project is expected to be an avenue through which green jobs are created while also strengthening entrepreneurship skills in sustainable value chains in rural areas.”
Online Reporter