The African Development Bank (AfDB) has partnered the Rockefeller Foundation, Microsoft and Facebook to launch the Coding for Employment Programme, aimed at training the next generation of African innovators.
The initiative, launched at the African Innovation Summit in Kigali, Rwanda, will provide youth with demand-driven ICT skills and match graduates directly with employers, aiming to empower the next generation of young digital innovators from the continent.
The Coding for Employment Program is at the centre of the AfDB’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Initiative, which aims to put Africa’s youth on a path to prosperity and equip 50 million youth with employable skills and create 25 million jobs in agriculture, information communications and technology and other key industries across Africa by 2025.
“Coding for Employment accelerates investments in Africa’s most valuable resource – its young women and men. That’s why the Rockefeller Foundation is thrilled to join forces with the African Development Bank to help every young African reach their full potential,” said Mamadou Biteye, the Rockefeller Foundation’s managing director for Africa.
“Our partnership with the African Development Bank will establish 130 Centres of Excellence across Africa to help bridge the gap between the digital hiring news of employers and the skills of Africa’s youth.”
Ghada Khalifa, director of Microsoft Philanthropies for the Middle East and Africa, said digital skills were fast becoming essential for the jobs of today and tomorrow.
“Unfortunately, these skills are beyond the reach of too many young people in Africa. Together with our partners like the African Development Bank, we are working to change that. The partnership between Microsoft and the African Development Bank will continue to focus on increasing the participation of underserved youth and women while equipping youth across Africa with the skills needed to fill jobs now and in the future,” she said.
