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Opportunities for Youth Employment International conference 2019Making markets work for youth

CONFERENCE REPORT

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OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUTH EMPLOYMENT INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2019

ContentsExecutive Summary �� 3

1� Introduction �� 5

2� Opening ceremonies �� 6

3� Visit of the youth market place ��7

4� Plenary sessions �� 8

4.1 First plenary session 8

4.2 Youth round-table 8

4.3 Issues and challenges of vocational training and integration of young people 9

4.5 Business plan competition 11

4.6 Opening session of the second day of the conference 13

4.7 Second plenary session: youth access to funding 14

4.8 Parallel Sessions on scaling 15

5� Lessons learned and recommendations �� 17

5.1. Conclusions and lessons learned 17

5.2. Recommendations for action 17

6� Closing of the conference �� 17

7� Conference attendance budget and statistics ��18

7.1. Budget 18

7.2. Conference attendance statistics 19

Annexes �� 20

Annex 1: Gender and Entrepreneurship 20

Annex 2: Aspects on which to act to reduce the gender gap 20

Annex 3: Complementarity of public and private sector stakeholders 21

Annex 4: Youth access to funding 21

Annex 5: Report of the competition on business plan pitch 22

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Executive Summary The first international conference on youth employment was held at Hotel Salam in Bamako, Mali, from 17 to 18 October 2019, on the theme “ Making Markets Work for the Youth”. The conference was chaired by the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training. It was organised by SNV as part of the EJOM project (Youth Employment creates Opportunities here in Mali), in collaboration with the other members of the consortium (APEJ, ICCO and WASTE) with funding from the European Union.

The conference brought together more than one hundred and twenty (120) participants (government and regional authorities, young entrepreneurs, political decision-makers, donors, development practitioners, representatives of the private sector and civil society) from different regions of Mali and abroad (including Belgium, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Senegal, Mauritania, Mozambique, Netherlands, Niger, Tanzania, United States of America, Zimbabwe). The Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) international conference thus allowed different participants to share their experiences and adventures as well as analyse the opportunities, challenges and alternatives in terms of vocational training and access to finance for young people, with particular emphasis on youth entrepreneurship as a tool to stimulate economic development in the Sahel.

Several events and activities were organised to provide a framework and support for these exchanges:

ज़ An exhibition “Youth Market Place” by young people of the products of their companies;

ज़ Four (4) introductory presentations on

topics related to vocational training and entrepreneurship financing;

ज़ A round table discussion moderated by young people on their entrepreneurial careers and the lessons learned;

ज़ In-depth group discussions on important topics such as “Conditions for reducing gender inequality in the labour market”, “Complementarity of public and private sector actors and stakeholders”, “Self-financing”, “Access to formal and informal finance”.

ज़ A panel moderated by young people on their experiences in mobilising funding;

ज़ A competition of business plan pitches presented by young entrepreneurs.

At the end of the two-day conference, the following lessons and recommendations were formulated:

1. The main factor of success for young entrepreneurs is first and foremost their willingness and commitment. All the experiences discussed show that we must start “small” and grow; this is how youth can go far, in the long term;

2. Job creation is easier by supporting existing companies to grow and create more employment opportunities for youth than by creating new companies ex nihilo;

3. According to experience, guarantee funds do not seem to be an effective instrument for promoting companies. A review and adaptations is necessary;

4. The international conference recommends that governments give greater attention to basic training for all young people and to the development of technical and vocational training institutes to better meet the needs of the labour market, needs that must be clearly identified.

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5. It also recommends the mobilisation of trust and deposit funds for the benefit of entrepreneurship, particularly for young people.

6. The employment challenges are common to all young people but even more so for girls. Thus, the conference recommends specific analysis and appropriate solutions for the inclusion of women in all interventions.

On the organisational level, it was recommended to ensure that a team dedicated to welcoming and interacting with participants was set up in order to relieve the project team and allow all its members to be fully present at the conference sessions

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1. Introduction Relatively isolated interventions in integration and vocational training would be even more effective and efficient if they had the opportunity to be shared and used as lessons for learning from each other and creating synergies. It is in this context that SNV hosted the first international conference on youth employment entitled “ Making Markets Work for the Youth”. This event brought together key stakeholders in youth employability, including youth, government and related institutions, technical and financial institutions, donors, the private sector and civil society organisations from Mali and other African countries.

The main objective of the International Conference on Opportunities for Youth Employment 2019 was to provide a platform for the exchange of experiences among young people from the Sahel region, those from other African countries and various other actors in the entrepreneurship and employment sector. Organised by the EJOM Project, this two-day international conference was held in Bamako at the Salam Hotel on 17 and 18 October 2019.

The specific objectives of the conference were as follows:

ज़ Contribute to the promotion of employment through a space for sharing and exchanging experiences and research results between stakeholders and decision makers.

ज़ Share and exchange experiences on the supply, challenges and alternatives in vocational training and youth financing/access to capital;

ज़ Provide opportunities for youth to network and exchange ideas, thereby fostering innovation.

ज़ Promote youth entrepreneurship as a tool to stimulate economic development in the Sahel, based on SNV’s experience with the OYE approach in East, Southern and West Africa - what we are learning, what works, what doesn’t work, etc.

ज़ Define and share the conclusions and recommendations of the conference with key stakeholders for future action.

The presidium at the opening ceremony of the conference

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2. Opening ceremonies The opening ceremonies of the conference took place by interspersing a film and an artist’s performance between the interventions of the various personalities including:

ज़ Mayor of Municipality 3 of Bamako District

ज़ SNV Country Director in Mali: Harm Duiker

These two interventions were followed by a film screening on the project’s achievements in Gao, Kayes, Koulikoro and Bamako. This film recounted some success stories of the young people who were supported by the project in their market gardening, agri-food processing and waste recovery activities.

After the film the following speakers shared their opening remarks and perspectives on youth employment:

ज़ Kudakwashe Dhliwayo, SNV Zimbabwe OYE beneficiary;

ज़ Adbou Karimou Maiga, Secretary General, National Youth Council Mali;

ज़ Tom Derksen, SNV Managing Director for Energy and Youth

Then, the audience was entertained to a performance by Doctor, a young Artist from Mali.

Following this artist, the following personalities gave their speeches, namely:

ज़ Mr. Paul Tholen, Chargé d’Affaires, Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands

ज़ Mr. Bart Ouvry, EU Ambassador, Delegation of the European Union

ज़ And finally, the opening speech was delivered by the Minister of Employment and Social Affairs Professional training Me Jean Claude Sidibe.

Here below, we summarise some of the key take away messages by the following speakers:

The National Youth Council representative of Mali (Mr Maiga):

The Council appreciates the actions taken in favour of young people, but despite this, the challenges remain significant in the field of youth training and employment. Indeed, there are enough partners involved in the sector, but problems remain to which solutions must be found. Finally, he encourages decision-makers and employers to have more confidence in young people.

From the testimony of Kudakwashe Dhliwayo from Zimbabwe

Young people must play a central role in their own employability by initiating activities in the context of climate change and other sectors of the future.

From Mr Tom Derksen, SNV Managing Director for Energy and Youth

Focus must be placed on young girls who face several barriers such as access to production and financing resources. But also to aspects related to market access. For him, one of the main challenges remains to develop youth leadership

Mr Paul Tholen Chargé d’Affaires of the Netherlands Embassy in Mali

In terms of the integration of young people, work is not only limited to being a salaried employee, but self-

The Minister of Employment and Vocational Training making his opening remarks

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employment is also a solution to solve the problem of employability of young people. In addition, it is also important to think of other forgotten sectors that provide employment: Communication Technologies (IT) and recycling.

From the Ambassador of the European Union, His Excellency Bart Ouvry:

He was pleased with the diversity of conference participants from countries other than Mali. This allows the exchange between young people from different backgrounds. Partners must support Malians and Africans to have solutions adapted to current problems. Finally, the Ambassador expressed his satisfaction with the results already achieved by the EJOM project.

From Mr Jean Claude Sidibé, Minister for Employment and Vocational Training

After his opening address, he expressed his wish to the European Union Ambassador that the EJOM project be extended to the Mopti region. In response, the Ambassador stated that he has noted this request.

3. Visit of the youth market place After the opening speech by the Minister, there followed a visit to the exhibitors’ stands made up of companies supported by the project in Mali and other countries. In all, eleven young people had a stand to display their products. These stands were visited by all the personalities who participated in the opening ceremonies as well, the conference participants.

The exhibitors were:

ज़ Néné Diarra (Agri-food) ज़ Mariam O. Tangara (Agri-food) ज़ Niamoye Traore (Agri-food) ज़ Aboubacar Diarra (Agri-food) ज़ Aminata Kane (Agri-food) ज़ Birama Kone (Horticulture) ज़ Coumba Konare (Agri-food) ज़ Bintou Samake (Horticulture) ज़ Mohamed Bukari, Horticulture,

Tanzania ज़ Kudakwashe Dhliwayo, Zimbabwe

and Patrick Sikalinda, Zambia: Meteorological data collection to help farmers.

The Ambassador of the European Union interacting with youth at the exhibition stands

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4. Plenary sessions 4.1 First plenary session Theme: Stimulating young people’s access to the labour market

Speaker: Mossadek Bally

Mr. Mossadek Bally, a Malian national, was born in Niger in 1960 and completed his higher education in the United States. He is currently a hotel entrepreneur and promoter of the Azalai Group (Caravan), which is now 25 years old, with 10 hotels, 1100 rooms and 3,000 jobs created.

From his intervention, it is necessary to remember after the account of his own experience that:

The speaker believes that there are many under-exploited sectors in Africa that can create jobs, including agricultural and agri-food processing sectors.

As a solution to the problem of financing young people, the speaker proposed that the State create a trust fund based on the caisse des dépôts et de consignation system, similar to the French model. For him, it is also up to the State to set up business creation facilities such as the Small business development Agency in the USA, incubator centres for young entrepreneurs and to lighten requirements for running and setting up a business in the region.

On the other hand, the business man pointed out that not everyone has the predisposition to become an entrepreneur. Only about 10% of individuals have this gift. To resolve the issue of youth employment, it is especially important to support the creation and development of VSEs and SMEs, which are mainly providers of employment.

Also, training remains a problem that the

state must face by allowing all children to have free access to basic education but also by focusing on vocational training since most children enrolled in school dropout towards the end of basic education, especially young girls. Moreover, not all young people in school can necessarily pursue higher education. So it remains to strengthen vocational training to improve their employability skills and opportunities.

4.2 Youth round-table Theme: Voices of the Future

Panelists:

ज़ Seynabou Dieng Traore, Founder and CEO of Maya SARL, Mali;

ज़ Mahamadoun Abdoulaye Traore, Co-founder and General Manager of Sanuva - waste treatment company, Mali;

ज़ Sidi Dagnoko, Founder and General Manager of SPIRIT MCCAN, Mali;

ज़ Moussa Sow, Promoter and CEO of the Boubou Sow school complex, Mali;

ज़ Kudakwashe Dhliwayo - Zimbabwe, Waste Management Company;

ज़ Patrick Sikalinda - Zambia Establishment of a weather database and development of an application for farmers;

ज़ Mohamed Bukari, former beneficiary of OYE Tanzania.

To respond to the question on: How did you start your business? Here are some of the answers collected from the panel members:

For Patrick Sikalinda from Zambia:

After conceptualising of the project idea, Patrick was funded by a national funding agency

As for Mrs. Traoré Zeinabou Dieng :

It was following a report of rotting vegetables at certain times of the year that she took the initiative of her

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company between 2016 -2017, first of all by producing them at home. The Maya Production Unit currently employs 10 people. Ms. Traore recommends that partners and the State must review support policies by strengthening existing companies.

For Moussa Sow:

As a young unemployed graduate with conviction and competence, he committed himself to creating, from scratch, a private school complex that today employs 400 people in 20 schools. Its strength is that today, the enterprise identifies training needs niches related to the job market and seeks the skills needed to provide these specific training courses at the level of its centres. He asks young people to believe in their dreams. Success requires being positive and humble. He also recommends that the state creates the conditions for business development by young people.

Kudakwashe Dhliwayo:

I used my salary to start my business. The motivation is not always money from the start. Initiatives takes time to start.

Sidy Danioko (Spirit Com):

Started its activities in 2002 - 2003 with a first business support project. Finally, we are a communication and marketing company with 72 employees and about a hundred consultants. For him, it is important not to confuse the idea of a project with the project.

Mahamadoun Abdoulaye Traore, co-founder of Sanuva:

It is from an observation of the proliferation of waste in Bamako without any viable recovery and treatment initiative that we and three partners started this initiative. We received equipment support from SNV, equivalent to 30 million CFA francs. We now

have 200 bins placed and a turnover of 14,000,000 CFAF and about 14 permanent staff. Our motivation goes beyond the environmental aspect but above all, the creation of jobs. The big challenge remains the sorting of waste at source. The young entrepreneur wishes to see more seriousness on the part of state structures in supporting young companies.

In conclusion: these panellists have almost the same common denominator. Indeed, they were all first “One Man Show”, persevering, believing in their initiative before counting on the support of others. The second common denominator is that their first financial support came from a close relative or acquaintance that enabled them to start a business.

This proves that to succeed in self-employment and business creation, one need to combine a certain number of characteristics: Believe in yourself, be persistent, be enterprising and be a good manager.

4.3 Issues and challenges of vocational training and integration of young people This presentation was made by Mrs Madina Dembélé Sisssoko: National Director of Vocational Training assisted by Koudy Dia, in charge of vocational training and youth employment at Lux-Dev.

The speaker gave an overview of vocational training in Mali. Indeed, the DNFP was created in December 2002. The main challenges for this Directorate remain the inadequacy of vocational training and the needs of the labour market, which has justified the need to create this Directorate and adopt its

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operationalisation laws, and to define its roles and responsibilities and those of the partners.

The needs of young people are often not considered during the formulation of training programmes - a sign of the disconnect between training curricula at vocational school level and the real needs of young people and the labour market.

Mrs Koudy Dia presented the activities carried out so far by Lux-Dev in the field of youth integration. Thus, this structure has supported and financed 400 business plans for young people with a success rate of 38% after one year. In addition, it was noted that proximity and monitoring improves the repayment rate.

The other challenge facing young people is the mismatch between the financial products available on the market and the financing needs. Indeed, the duration and amount of the loans are generally short compared to the return on investment of the financed activity.

In conclusion, she believes that projects/programmes are only support mechanisms. , iIt is the technical services that must be at the forefront and ensure that the good experiences acquired by the support structures are scaled up.

4.4 Plenary session and round tables discussions Following the presentation made by the National Director of Vocational Training and the person in charge of vocational training and integration of young people of Lux-Dev, the participants were divided into groups comprising two sessions whose theme was: Decent work and economic growth: Bridging the gap between young people and the labour market

Session 1: Gender equality: conditions for reduction of market inequalities work between young women and young men.

Moderators:

ज़ Roy van der Drift, SNV ज़ Jacqueline Terrillon, SNV

Session 2: Complementarity of actors and parties public and private sector stakeholders in the promotion and implementation of the development of market systems inclusive for youth.

Moderators:

ज़ Alfousseni Sidibé, moderator Mali ज़ Yeshiwork, Tewodros, Ethiopia

For more information and results of the group discussions, please see Appendix at end of this report.

Findings from the group work:

ज़ Enterprises driven by women are the most successful which militates for equitable access to resources for women and men. Emphasis was placed on the need for vocational training of young girls and work to ensure that women are represented in professional bodies;

ज़ It was noted that early marriages are a situation that can have an impact on a woman’s development.

A plenary session

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In terms of strategy, to sensitise society to accept a stronger involvement of women in socio-economic life, it is suggested to:

ज़ Support women service providers; ज़ Use role models to sensitise others in

the community so they can participate in socio-economic activities;

ज़ Adapt certain activities to the woman’s calendars to allow them to be fully involved/full participation.

4.5 Business plan competition As part of the competition, business plans of six young people were selected. To make this decision, a jury was constituted whose members were:

ज़ Seynabou Dieng Traore, Founder of Maya SARL.

ज़ Hamidou Dicko, Head of Studies and Financing Department, Private Sector Guarantee Fund, Mali,

ज़ Thiendou Mbaye, Director Cofina Micro-finance

On the other hand, each member of the July was asked to vote for his or her projects of choice by ranking them from

first to third. It should be noted that the Director of Cofina has undertaken to support the first three business plans in their implementation and financing.

Business plan pitches by youth entrepreneurs:

1. Ibrahima Cheick Ly (Public 1) Promoter of the Green Kayes structure

Project: Production of Solea papaya and establishment of a distribution network of 10 producers that they supply in nurseries. Conversion of papaya into nectar using recycled bottle packaging

Project cost 15 million for the production network, processing and marketing

2. Patrick Sikalinda from Zambia (Public 2)

Collection of information from producers in different regions of the country (around 2000) of which 850 are on the platform. Demonstrate applications that help farmers in their decision-making.

3. Ali Diarra promotion of the Diarrala farm

Project: Onion production

Fatouma, or Maman, Touré won first prize

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Search for financing for the installation of an irrigation system

Existence of water throughout the year

The farm currently employs young people on a permanent and temporary basis.

4. Kudakwashe Dhliwayo - Zimbabwe

Raising community awareness on waste management. They intend to work on the collection, sorting and sale of waste, which will provide a source of income and therefore employment. She seeks to have additional funds to purchase a plastic waste compressor.

5. Fatoumata known as Maman Touré, Promoter of a company selling agricultural equipment

Project: Sustainable agricultural development

Problem of carrying out the extension of its activities by setting up an import and assembly unit for small agricultural equipment in partnership with a Chinese firm. To achieve this expansion goal, they need financing requirement of about 500 000 000 000 FCFA. The company was founded in 2018 by 9 young people.

6. Nènè Diarra, Promoter of Kariya Agro-food

Project: Seeks to increase processing

capacity to be able to compete with imports and promote Mali’s home-made product.

ज़ Current turnover is 8 million with a net profit of 4 million.

ज़ Currently employs 3 young people.

A trophy was awarded to each of the winners at the end day 2 of the conference.

Following the various presentations, the members of the jury gave their impressions, which among others are:

ज़ The time given to young people was insufficient to provide the much needed information;

ज़ The appreciable quality of the pitch; ज़ Hygiene aspects were not sufficiently

addressed, particularly in the agri-food sector;

ज़ All the young competitors are active and show great potential;

ज़ The young people did not explain how they differ from others;

ज़ The lack of market data in the different interventions;

ज़ The data provided does not allow us to assess the profitability of the business.

From the different pitches, the selection was made based on opportunities:

ज़ The existence of potentialities, in

Rank Entrepreneur Business plan

1 Fatoumata known as Maman Touré Promotion of sustainable agriculture

2 Ibrahima Cheick LY Production, networking, marketing and processing of Solo papaya

3 Nènè Diarra Fruit juice production

Table 1 At the end of the various presentations of the projects by the entrepreneurs and at the end of their examination by the members of the jury and the Internet (Slido) votes by the participants, the following three business plans were selected:

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particular the availability of water and space for certain types of activities;

ज़ Increased need for technologies at the community level;

ज़ The support of technical and financial partners;

ज़ Availability of public authorities to support actions;

ज़ The multiplicity of actions supporting young people.

The challenges mentioned by young people during the business plan pitches include:

ज़ Access to finance; ज़ The lack or inadequacy of appropriate

equipment; ज़ Highly competitive markets; ज़ Lack of skills in the market.

Lessons learned include:

ज़ The entrepreneur’s commitment to the realisation of his/her project idea is a prerequisite for his success;

ज़ It is always important to go step by step in the implementation of a project/business idea;

ज़ Agriculture offers many employment opportunities to young people;

ज़ The entrepreneur’s perseverance and involvement are the guarantee of the success of his/her company;

ज़ Not all young people are necessarily good entrepreneurs and that to create sustainable jobs, existing businesses should be supported.

A summary of day one discussions was provided by Hibaq Dougsiyeh, Communications and Business Development Officer, SNV USA.

She noted that she was impressed by the experience of the lady from Zimbabwe. She also underscored that young people are at the heart of change and development.

4.6 Opening session of the second day of the conference Theme: Financing the future - creating mechanisms to stimulate/develop youth entrepreneurship in the Sahel region

Presenters:

ज़ Corine Salinas - Head of International Aid and Cooperation - Programme Manager Emergency Trust Fund for Africa, European Union

ज़ Hamidou Dicko, Managing Director Private Sector Guarantee Fund.

a) Presentation of the EU Trust Fund by Ms Corine Salinas: The fund was created in November 2015 to address the challenges of irregular migration. The fund has been allocated €85 billion to finance local development actions in Africa.

This fund is dedicated to combating irregular migration targeting regions that have been neglected by bilateral cooperation (North Africa, Sahel and Lake Chad and East Africa).

Priority: Create meaningful economic and employment opportunities and foster inclusive growth for all. In Mali, security governance and economic development are the sectors eligible for the fund. The principles of intervention of the Fund are as follows:

ज़ The fund prioritises the CAD approach;

ज़ Collecting data on youth immigration, ज़ Project evaluation studies; ज़ The main indicators of the fund are:

the number of jobs created, the number of businesses created and the number of people engaged in economic activity;

ज़ Vocational training in dual mode and integration of trainees;

ज़ Support for public employment

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support programmes; ज़ Market access for producers and

value chains; ज़ Support for SMEs and entrepreneurs; ज़ Support for investment projects

of members of the diaspora, funding €484.5 million (27 bilateral programmes in 3 regions).

Fund website: https://ec.europa.eu/trustfundforafrica/content/homepage_en

b) Second presenter: Hamidou Dicko in charge of studies and financing of the FGSP-SA.

According to the speaker, the FGSP presents innovative mechanisms to finance entrepreneurship in Mali. It is a financial institution of a banking nature with €50 billion guarantee funds. Proposed solutions :

ज़ Financial guarantee to compensate for the lack of guarantee and encourage banks;

ज़ Direct financing (traditional market financing loans).

In his intervention, the speaker dwelt heavily on the difficulties that the fund often faces, among others:

ज़ Quality and structuring of projects ज़ Business management capacity and

credit culture; ज़ Absence or low level of personal

contribution and guarantee; ज़ Insufficient ecosystem support ज़ Limited offers of financing

opportunities; ज़ High cost of access to financing.

Other products:

ज़ Leasing of apparatus and equipment.

Prospects for the future

ज़ Capital for risk-taking ; ज़ Equity loan for stable financing

without collateral.

4.7 Second plenary session: youth access to funding (a) Plenary session on access to finance Moderator: Cloffas Nyagumbo, SNV Zimbabwe

Background: case study/example of informal groups of young people on integration, which are savings and credit groups of 20 to 30 members open to men and women with a frequency of meeting once or twice a month.

It is up to the members of the group to set its operating rules and in particular the amounts of the contribution as well as the penalty rates in the event of late payment of the contribution.

These groups help to develop social and professional relationships between their members at the time of savings mobilisation, loan repayment and loan distribution meetings. In addition, peer education and the linking of these groups with financial institutions are also advantages offered by these groups to their members.

b) Young entrepreneurs’ panel on financing Panelist 1: Mohamed Bukari, OYE alumnus, Tanzania: agricultural production

According to Bukari, local authorities can be involved in the training of young people. After the training, the young people ought to be supported to form loan groups. They can also bring together other young people in order to broaden their solidarity network.

Mohamed’s conclusion is that young people must be ready for change and this change can be achieved with their participation.

Panelist 2: Mariam Ousmane Tangara Agro-Food Processing

Started in 2009.

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She started trading activities by selling her older sister’s peanuts at 50 FCFA per small bag (7 euro cents). Later, she became involved in activities while modernising and diversifying the presentation of peanuts.

To develop her business, Mariam received financial support from her mother of 25,000 FCFA (€38), her brother 10,000 FCFA (€10) and her husband 15,000 FCFA (€22). Subsequently, an acquaintance of his uncle lent her 100,000 FCFA (€152).

That’s how this young entrepreneur diversified her business venture and started packaging and selling the chilli pepper in Kayes.

In addition, the training she received in the EJOM framework allowed Mariam to improve the presentation of products. In July, the company was formally registered with a turnover of about 250,000 FCFA (€380) per month.

Panelist 3: Hassim Alphagalo, gri-entrepreneur FEMA Bio, Mali

Hassim started his business activity with a sum of 100,000 FCFA (€152) he saved on his scholarship for the cultivation of okra. After three months, he made a profit of 300,000 FCFA (€355) and then 400,000 FCFA (€605).

In short: from these three experiences it can be concluded that the foundation does not depend on

substantial financial support but on own individual commitment. A little support has often been crucial to their success, but young people owe their success only to their own dedication and perseverance.

4.8 Parallel Sessions on scaling Session 1: How can young people can generate access through diversification

Moderators:

ज़ Alfousseni Sidibé, Mali ज़ Emma Long’idu, SNV Tanzanie

Session 2: Linking and creating access to finance? Formal and informal financial markets

Moderators:

ज़ Alassane Konate, SNV Mali ज़ Yetnayayayet Girmaw, SNV Ethiopia

The parallel sessions focused on how young people can generate and create access to funding themselves. To stimulate discussions within the groups, the following areas of reflection were given:

ज़ Young people do not want credit because it affects the ownership of their business.

☐ Option 1: Credit must be more accessible and affordable

☐ Option 2: It’s an illusion and projects must subsidise young start-ups

ज़ Access to finance for young people is very often a major challenge

☐ Option 1: Young people should look for their own solutions

☐ Option 2: Young people need public funding to help them

At the end of the discussions, the following ideas were developed for facilitating young people’s access to finance:

Youth panel on access to funding

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1. Young people must organise themselves into EPCs to facilitate access to funding (own funding mechanism),

2. Credit or grant for starting a business results in low success rate. Support should be provided to youth who are already running an enterprise.

3. Are NGOs in their role as project manager / financing programme for young entrepreneurs? Need for clarity/separation of roles.

4. Tripartite meetings between incubator, entrepreneurs and financing structure (Bank and SFD) recommended.

5. Entrepreneurship is in the blood and a global study shows that only 10% of the population has what it takes to be an entrepreneur.

6. It is good to get credit and it is necessary to repay the loan, yet the existence of the company should not only be limited to its ability to repay the loan.

7. Ensure the maturity of the initiator of the integration idea before granting financial support

8. Work to change the mindset of young people

9. Allow for intermediate phase to enable youth to save their contribution, ensure their commitment and the existence of a viable business plan

10. Properly evaluate loan applications for better calibration against the company’s real needs

11. Complementarity of roles between the state and support partners - the state must not play the role of financial structures.

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5. Lessons learned and recommendations 5.1. Conclusions and lessons learned At the end of the two-day conference, the following conclusions and recommendation were outlined:

1. The main factor of success for young entrepreneurs is first and foremost their willingness and commitment. All the experiences discussed show that youth must start “small” and grow; this is how they can go far, in the long term.

2. Job creation can be escalated by supporting and investing in existing companies (for growth and creation of more jobs) than by creating new companies ex nihilo.

3. According to experience, guarantee funds do not seem to be an effective instrument for promoting companies. A review and adaptations are necessary;

4. The conference appreciated the EU Ambassador’s willingness to consider the request of the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training to extend the project to the Mopti region.

5. The Ambassador also appreciated Cofina’s proposal to consider some business plans following the presentation of convinced and convincing young entrepreneurs.

5.2. Recommendations for action 1. The international conference

recommends that governments give greater attention to basic training for all young people and to the development of technical and vocational training to better meet the

needs of the labour market, needs that must be clearly identified.

2. It also recommended the mobilisation of trust and deposit funds for the benefit of entrepreneurship, particularly for young people.

3. The employment challenges are common to all young people but even more so for girls; also, the conference recommends specific analysis and appropriate solutions for the inclusion of women in all interventions.

6. Closing of the conference The closing ceremonies of the conference was chaired by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training; and additional perspectives on the outcomes of the conference provided by the following speakers:

ज़ Mr Laouali Sadda, EJOM Coordinator at SNV-Mali;

ज़ Mr Mohamed Taleb Ibrahim President of the National Youth Council of Mauritania;

ज़ Ms Jean Muthamia-Mwenda Global Coordinator youth employment at SNV Global Support Unit.

ज़ His Excellency Mr. Bart Ouvry, Ambassador of the European Union to Mali

ज़ Mr Drissa Guindo, Secretary General of the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training.

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Allocations Planned (CFA)Realised (CFA)

Difference (CFA) Comments

SP969-5.11 4,639,800

4,639,800 0

Communication gadgets and product visibility were used for the conference. These are USB sticks, pens and notepads for this amount

SP969-5.14 20,000,000 23,752,490 - 3 752 490

Basic provisional budget. Several activities were added to the initial program, explaining this difference (simultaneous translation, cultural dinner, business plan competition awards, ORTM's production and distribution of an infomercial report)

SNV headquarters

6,559,570 6,559,570

0

Contribution from SNV headquarters (€10,000) to cover, among other things, the costs of young OYE guests from other African countries

Accommodation of equity participants (Salam)

3,256,500 3,256,500 0 All SNV participants working on OYE projects took care of their costs of travel and accommodation

Total

(in €)

34,455,870

(€52,528)

38,208,360

(€58,248)

-3,752,490

(-€5,720)

Amount to be recovered from another budget line

7. Conference information7.1. Budget The provisional budget for the conference was 20 million FCFA (€20,489,000) (line 5.14). At the end of the first two meetings of the organising committee, it proved insufficient to cover all the costs of the activities listed. Hence the need to consider alternative solutions to raise additional funds. As the idea of seeking partners to co-finance proved difficult to achieve given the time constraints, the team focused on three measures that increased the available budget:

ज़ A financial contribution from the SNV Global Support Unit of €10,000;

ज़ The use of some of the gadgets financed on the Communication line of the EJOM project (line 5.11);

ज़ Contributions by SNV colleagues working on OYE projects in other countries.

The table below provides a summary of the budgetary execution of the conference.

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7.2. Conference attendance statistics

8

35

43

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

young people from outside Mali young people from Mali Total number of young people

Conference youth participation

96

44

140

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Men Women Total

Segmentation according to gender

28

112

Segmentation according country of origin

Participants from Mali Participants from other countries

Of the 140 participants, 43 are identified young people. 03 young leaders from neighbouring countries (Mauritania, Burkina, Senegal), 03 young beneficiaries of OYE projects from outside and 14 young people from OYE projects in Mali 15 other young people among the panellists and other invited youth organisations. A total of 35 identified young people took part, with a participation rate of 25%, without taking into account other young people among the audience.

28 participants came from outside and 112 from all over Mali.

Nearly a third of the conference participants were women.

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Annexes Annex 1: Gender and Entrepreneurship Gender inequality in entrepreneurship has its roots at different levels

From a cultural point of view, girls who decide to stand out from the crowd are most often called missed boys. For society, a woman/girl must always come after men/boys.

The high amount of the dowry, which is very common in Africa, makes women even more submissive in the household.

What actions should be taken to address gender inequality in the African entrepreneurial world?

ज़ To create an economic empowerment of women because it represents for the said layer factors of respect and consideration.

ज़ Return to the symbolic form of the dowry by reducing the amount to be paid. ज़ Access to education and land

What is needed to empower women, how to create the conditions to reduce inequality between men and women?

We can say that this approach has already begun, ten or twenty years ago, parents invested more in boys’ education than girls’, but nowadays we can see that both boys and girls are supported equally by parents for a successful education.

Focus on basic education for all and develop technical and vocational training to give girls a better chance to complete their education.

Work to direct girls to areas that are supposed to be suitable only for men. Bring about a change in mentality in our societies.

Annex 2: Aspects on which to act to reduce the gender gap How to create conditions to reduce gender inequality

Gender equality implies the economic empowerment of women.

Women-led businesses are the most successful, which militates for equitable access to resources for women and men

Solutions focus on training and working to ensure that women have access to all professional bodies and opportunities.

Emma’s Tanzania experience on managing difficult cultural issues affecting women during OYE trainings: Tanzania had to develop a new strategy so that young girls could benefit from the project support. Using female service providers and use of role models to sensitise others in the community on the need to empower young girls and women. Certain activities can be adapted to fit the woman’s calendars.

It was noted that early marriage is a situation that can affect a woman’s development.

The conference noted that trade is better managed by women than men. Despite this realisation, women are considered inferior to women.

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Annex 3: Complementarity of public and private sector stakeholders The theme was divided into two parts for a better understanding of the participants.

Part One: ज़ Establish effective links between the public and private sectors to better promote the

employability of young people. ज़ Skills training for employability must become more accessible and relevant to the

market. ज़ Facilitate training for employability. ज़ Reform of the public sector employability training sector.

Part Two: The private sector must be the largest provider of employment while absorbing more young people into the labour markets.

ज़ The private sector can not do this alone.

The group thought that the private sector can be a job provider, can drive the development of the inclusive market system for young people, but must have the support and collaboration of the state.

ज़ The public sector must subsidise the private sector.

The public sector must subsidise and facilitate the implementation of private sector activities, i.e. they must be complementary in the employability of young people.

Annex 4: Youth access to funding This session was held on the second day of the international conference. This theme, moderated by Cloffas Nyagumbo SNV Zimbabwe and Yetnayet GIRMAW SNV Ethiopia as session moderators, also focused on the experience of SNV accompanying some youth groups in Ethiopia and also a discussion with young entrepreneurs on the history of their project.

The session on young people’s access to finance began with a presentation of experiences in the face of financing challenges: the case of Ethiopia.

This case concerns the mobilisation of funds by young people through informal groups of

20 to 30 people. In their organisation, they have internal rules of procedure that provide for payment terms, penalties, etc. and meet periodically. They have a management committee of 5 members elected for one year.

In their savings, they provide loans to each other. Together, they learn financial literacy, talk about their problems and seek solutions to their problems. In addition, they help with formation of new groups.

In their work, they trust each other and learn from each other because there is no limitation of ideas or fixed approach for the success of their activities.

The project supports the youth groups on the basis of their planning. Youth groups have managed to save money and even create a social fund for helping members.

In conclusion, the case of Ethiopia can be a case study by observing some rules:

The group must be homogeneous;

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Families must be involved;

Saving alone is not enough, it is necessary to strengthen the capacities of the group members in management as well as in working techniques and to put them in contact with financial institutions.

The second part concerned three young entrepreneurs around 3 essential questions that highlight the implementation path of their company. Here are the three questions asked to kickstart the discussion:

ज़ Give us an overview of your business by telling us how you got there? ज़ How did you break the financing barrier for your company? ज़ What is your message to young people who want to start an entreprise?

Generally speaking, they were all financed, either within an informal group or through loans with a relative and/or own funds. They emphasised determination, self-confidence, commitment and training to better succeed in their business. As a call to young people, they ask them to get information, to train, not to rely on anyone else to do their business and to start small.

It appears from the exchanges that there is no ready-made recipe for young people’s access to funding, but there are several success stories that can be replicated. One of the key lessons is that one cannot be an entrepreneur without the will and determination.

Annex 5: Report of the competition on business plan pitch As part of the 1st edition of the Opportunities for Youth Employment International Conference 2019, a business plan pitch competition was organised. This competition involved 6 young candidates who competed against each other:

ज़ Alou DIARRA, developer farm Diarrala/horticulture (Mali) ; ज़ Néné DIARRA, promoter Karia Agro alimentaire (Mali) ; ज़ Fatoumata TOURE dite Maman, Entreprise ATH, Distribution de petits matériels

agricoles (Mali) ; ज़ Ibrahima Check LY, Processing of papaya (Mali) ; ज़ Kudakwashe DHLIWAYO, Waste Management (Zimbabwe); ज़ Patrick SIKALINDA, horticulture, development of water management applications?

(Zambia).

The responsibility of selecting the 3 best business plans lay with the public and a jury of 03 members:

ज़ Seynabou DIENG TRAORE, Founder of MAYA Sarl ; ज़ Hamidou DICKO, Head of the Research and Financing Department FGSP ; -

Thiendou M’BAYE, Director COFINA Microfinance.

The public participation took the form of a vote using Slido App. Slido (www.slido.com)

To ensure transparency in the process, it was decided in advance to allow 5 minutes of presentation by each young person. At the end of the presentations, pitches points were awarded to the first three of the public and the jury as follows:

1. …………………….. 3 points 2. ..…………………… 2 points 3. ………..…………… 1 point

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After the round of presentation of the various candidates, time was given to the jury and the public to vote.

Of the jury’s work, the following ranking is retained:

1. Néné DIARRA 3 points;2. Fatoumata TOURE 2 points;3. 3rd Alou DIARRA 1 point.

The public vote resulted in the following result:

1. Ibrahima Cheick LY 46%, or 3 points; 2. Fatoumata TOURE 43%, or 2 points;3. Patrick SIKALINDA 41%, or 1 point.

The summary of the jury and public ratings gave the following result:

1. Fatoumata TOURE 2 points 2. Ibrahim Cheick LY 1.5 points 2. Price ex Néné DIARRA 1.5 point

Background information on the business concepts:

Ibrahima LY, promoter of the company Carré vert, transforms the best quality papaya into nectar. The product is beneficial to the health of the consumer. He proposes the establishment of a distribution network using recycled materials.

Patrick SIKALINDA puts on the Zambian market a company that collects information from producers and has a platform of850 farmers. The system is simple because the application is used with phones. Contrary to popular belief, there is a real need for technology in rural areas.

Director of the Diarrala Farm, Alou requests support for the extension of his activities in the 7 ha farm located in the Koulikoro Region. It employs 36 people, 6 of whom are permanent. With the support of the EJOM project, he started his activities with ¼ ha and was able to drill a borehole.

Kudakwashe DHLIWAYO is a young Zimbabwean woman who is involved in waste management. Her company collects and sorts waste while initiating awareness-raising and training activities at the community level. IShe seeks to benefit from modern equipment such as waste compressors.

Fatoumata TOURE, promoter of the company ATH, which operates in the agricultural field, innovations related to the use of agricultural machinery. Its activity provides farmers with all types of agricultural machinery. The enterprise currently employs 9 people and wishes to benefit from investment financing of 500 million CFA francs.

Director of the company Karia agroalimentaire, which means “to dare” in the local language, Néné DIARRA mainly carries out the transformation of seasonal fruits into juices and jams. This young entrepreneur seeks funding of 2,057,435 CFA francs to give her company more room to grow from 3 to 5 jobs.

The rapporteurs

Boubacar HAIDARA, Project manager EJOM/APEJ-BKO

Abdoulkadri O TOURE, Project manager EJOM/SNV Gao

Parkstraat 832514 JG The HagueThe Netherlands

Phone: + 31 70 3440 244Email: info@snv�orgwww�snv�org

twitter�com/SNVworldfacebook�com/SNVworldlinkedin�com/company/snv

Executive Summary 1. Introduction 2. Opening ceremonies 3. Visit of the youth market place 4. Plenary sessions 4.1 First plenary session 4.2 Youth round-table 4.3 Issues and challenges of vocational training and integration of young people 4.5 Business plan competition 4.6 Opening session of the second day of the conference 4.7 Second plenary session: youth access to funding 4.8 Parallel Sessions on scaling

5. Lessons learned and recommendations 5.1. Conclusions and lessons learned 5.2. Recommendations for action

6. Closing of the conference 7. Conference attendance budget and statistics 7.1. Budget 7.2. Conference attendance statistics

Annexes Annex 1: Gender and Entrepreneurship Annex 2: Aspects on which to act to reduce the gender gap Annex 3: Complementarity of public and private sector stakeholders Annex 4: Youth access to funding Annex 5: Report of the competition on business plan pitch

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