Press Release
July 28, 2020 • 4 min read
GOAL has been announced as one of the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works partners in Uganda to enable three million young people access dignified and fulfilling work opportunities by 2030.
Catherine Ainembabazi, a Youth Agriprenuer Producer with Gudie Leisure Farm as part of the Young Africa Works programme.
The Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy has committed $200 million to ensure young women, men, and refugees in Uganda have access to economic opportunities. It will work on three economic sectors, including agriculture, tourism and hospitality, and construction/housing.
Under Young Africa Works, GOAL in Uganda will be responsible for directly enabling 300,000 young rural women and men access dignified and fulfilling work over a five-year period across 16 Districts in five sub-regions. 70 per cent of the targets (210,000) will be young women, 30,000 will be refugees, and 15,000 will be people living with disabilities.
In addition, the program envisions benefiting 600,000 people indirectly through the different program interventions. It is hoped this will be achieved by partnering and supporting existing private sector actors to expand their businesses, adapt their business models, and develop new products and services.
GOAL already works with the Mastercard Foundation on another youth program linking young people with employment opportunities, or helping them start their own businesses in the agriculture sector. To date GOAL has reached over 100,000 young people in Northern Uganda. Furthermore, as part of the Mastercard Foundation’s COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program, GOAL is working with the Foundation to protect small and micro enterprises and young women and men’s livelihoods from the impact of COVID-19.
Speaking at the launch of Young Africa Works, Mastercard Foundation President and CEO Reeta Roy noted that the implementation of Young Africa Works is already underway and she noted the importance of collaboration among all stakeholders involved in Young Africa Works.
His Excellency, President of Uganda, Yoweri Museveni presiding over the launch of the Young Africa Works programme.
“We have formed partnerships with a number of organizations and together, if we are successful, they already represent 30 percent of the goal of having 30 million people in dignified and fulfilling work,” she said. “What’s special is how our partners have come together to intentionally collaborate and leverage each other’s strengths,” she added.
The virtual launch of the programme was presided over by His Excellency President Yoweri Museveni.
GOAL CEO, Siobhan Walsh, said: “We are delighted to partner with the Mastercard Foundation on this important initiative which will empower hundreds of thousands of young people in Uganda, and provide them with long lasting opportunities. There is important alignment between GOAL and the Mastercard Foundation in targeting communities that have limited access to opportunities, especially women, refugees and people with disabilities. We are looking forward to working in partnership with Mastercard to enable young people to create new futures through access to dignified and fulfilling work. The youth are the future of Uganda.”
Uganda is home to the second largest population of young people in the world with 82 percent of the population under the age of 35.
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About GOAL Uganda
Established in 1977, GOAL is an international humanitarian and development agency, committed to working with communities to achieve sustainable and innovative early response in crises, and lasting solutions to poverty and vulnerability. GOAL has worked in over 60 countries and responded to almost every major humanitarian disaster. We are currently operational in 13 countries globally.
GOAL has been working in Uganda since 1979 and is currently implementing programs that build community resilience and support socio-economic development with a focus on water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition, health systems strengthening and agricultural market systems. For more information please visit: www.goalglobal.org/countries/uganda
About the Mastercard Foundation
The Mastercard Foundation works with visionary organizations to enable young people in Africa and in Indigenous communities in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. It is one of the largest private foundations in the world with a mission to advance learning and promote financial inclusion to create an inclusive and equitable world. The Foundation was created by Mastercard in 2006 as an independent organization with its own Board of Directors and management. For more information on the Foundation, please visit: www.mastercardfdn.org
Young Africa Works is Mastercard Foundation’s strategy to enable 30 million young people, particularly young women, across Africa to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. To realize this vision, the Foundation aims to contribute to the development of strong education and training systems that prepare young people for work, effective labour markets that link young people to opportunities, and strong financial and key sector markets that drive productivity and create work opportunities.
For additional information, please contact:
GOAL Uganda
info@ug.goal.ie
GOAL HQ
Miriam Donohoe
Senior Communications Manager, GOAL
+353 87 2393914
mdonohoe@goal.ie
The Mastercard Foundation
Helen White
Strategy Lead, Program Communications, Mastercard Foundation
+27 76 166 5372
hwhite@mastercardfdn.org
