Story by Fungai Jachi
HARARE-AT least 13 000 youths from across the country are set to benefit from the second phase of the Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Project, which was launched in Harare this Wednesday.
Youth Empowerment in Zimbabwe has ceased to be a fantasy; it is now a lived reality, and young people like 17-year-old Tapiwanashe Shumba and 26-year-old Chido Makanha are already benefiting from the empowerment initiatives spearheaded by the government and its development partners.
“I am grateful that opportunities have been created for us. I am into rabbit breeding, and there is a huge market because people view it as a delicacy. The business is doing quite well,” he said.
“I am one black person who is providing a rare breed of flowers to the market, and as a young person, I am excited about that. I am looking forward to starting exporting soon because my hectarage has increased,” Chido Makanha said.
Sander Jamba, who works with nine others in peas production, is already making a mark on the export market.
“We are a group of ten young people who ventured into pea farming. We started off providing the local market, but failed to survive because of competition. That is when we were helped to start export-oriented production. Now we have a market in Europe and we are exporting our peas and making more money,” Jamba said.
Peter Kanodeweta, who got funding from the Youth Bank to start his apiary project, is grateful for the opportunities being provided to young people.
“For starters, my apiary project, I got money from the youth bank and was able to buy what I needed to start the project. I started with 30 hives and now I have 60, hoping to be at 100 by the end of the year. The Second Republic has really created a conducive environment for young people to venture into business,” he said.
The launch of the second phase of the Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Project stands to bring sustainability to already existing enterprises, while also giving a new lifeline to new businesses with development partners and the government vowing to continue collaborating for the benefit of youths.
“This initiative aligns closely with Zimbabwe’s National Youth Policy (2020-2025) and frameworks such as Vision 2030, which emphasizes youth participation, employment, empowerment, and entrepreneurship. By tackling key issues such as mindset transformation, access to finance, skills mismatches, climate resilience, and enterprise development, the YEE programme is laying a strong foundation for youth empowerment in Zimbabwe,” Country Director- SNV, Mrs Lucy Fulgence-Silas said.
“We are appreciative of the efforts by our development partners because youth Empowerment has now become a reality through these collaborations. As a government, we will continue to put in place policies that allow young people and their businesses to thrive,” Permanent Secretary – Ministry of Youth Empowerment Development and Vocational Training, Mr Solomon Mhlanga said.
Youth empowerment is one of the government’s key priority areas, with various initiatives that include the setting up of the youth fund and establishment of vocational training centres being pursued to ensure young people are part of the national developmental matrix.
