UNDP commits to funding for youth projects

Valencia Ndhlovu and Clementine Phulu, Sunday News Reporters

THE United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has committed over US$20 000 to capacitate young people so that they cultivate a culture of entrepreneurship with over 400 youths having been trained so far under the building resilient food supply systems.

The Government has also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting such programmes through the establishment of production and incubation hubs across the country to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and confidence in youths to start their own businesses rather than being job seekers.

Speaking at the occasion to mark the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) on building resilient food supply systems in Bulawayo on Thursday, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Youth, Sport, Arts and Recreation Dr Thokozile Chitepo said the ministry values entrepreneurship training as one guaranteed pathway to ensuring employment creation among the youths.

The programme in Bulawayo saw UNDP in partnership with the Government giving out funding to nine young entrepreneurs from around Zimbabwe out of 30 who pitched their business ideas to a panel of judges.

“In order to capacitate young entrepreneurs, the Ministry continues to establish production and incubation hubs across the country in an effort to help young people develop entrepreneurial skills to grow the confidence to start their own business enterprises,” she said.

She emphasised the need for gender balance and inclusivity in all Government supported programmes saying they wanted to ensure that no-one was left behind on the basis of gender or disability and paid tribute to the UNDP for partnering the Government and financially supporting youths programmes in the country.

The programme was running under the theme ‘connecting young people to opportunities and connecting young people to jobs and entrepreneurship.’

Dr Chitepo said young people below the age of 35 years in Zimbabwe constitute over 70% of our country’s population, and was a huge resource that the country needed to take advantage of and tap into taking note of the youths’ agility and quickness to learn new skills.

“We recognise the great contribution that was made by the UNDP to support this programme that we are witnessing today. This initiative complements Government’s National Financial Inclusion Strategy in providing capital to young businesses.

Training is the foundation for enterprise development. I would like to applaud UNDP for training and mentoring 400 youth under the Building Resilient Food Supply Systems. Skills acquisition is paramount to successful project implementation, and in this regard, the Ministry runs vocational training and skills development programs which enable trainees to learn the skills to start their own businesses after which they are expected to run their own enterprises and create employment and income for themselves and others,” she said.

She added that the UNDP contributed to the support that the Government has been giving after it established Empower-Bank, a youth focused bank aimed at facilitating youth financial inclusion and to take young people on board and it assisting young men and women with financial support to start and support their businesses.

Currently, she said, the bank was implementing a youth starter pack programme which supports various value chains.
She reiterated the efforts that were being made by the Government in helping the youth to curb poverty through sport and arts by identifying and developing individual talents saying entrepreneurship improves the lives of individuals and communities hence the need to continue identifying and honouring talent.

“Platforms such as this one help unleash the potential in young people, and inculcate the much-needed confidence. In this regard, I would like to pay great tribute to our partners who design and come up with complementary programmes such as this one to help develop our young people,” she said.