The African Development Bank has selected Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, South Africa, and Ghana, for the pilot of the Entrepreneurship Lab (E-lab) project. The project is a part of its “Boost Africa” strategy which provides the innovative entrepreneur with finance, technical assistance, and support through incubators, accelerators, and more.
Boost Africa is backed by the European Investment Bank, European Commission, and others and part of AfDB’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy (2016 -2025). It was launched by the African Development Bank and the European Investment Bank to boost entrepreneurship and innovation across the continent.
AfDB’s Economic Outlook Report estimates that between 11 and 13 million youths will join the labor force every year between 2015 to 2030 and only 3 million will secure employment. They seek to bridge the gap by creating about 25 million jobs and impacting 50 million youth through private sector investments by 2025.
See also: AfDB set to Launch Africa Digital Financial Inclusion Facility
The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs of the Government of the Swiss Confederation (SECO) signed two agreements with the AfDB to fund African initiatives during the Bank’s 2019 Annual Meeting. They contributed the sum of 3 million Swiss francs to the E-Lab and 200, 000 Swiss francs to the Urban & Municipal Development Fund for Africa (UMDF).
Switzerland has been a long-standing partner of the AfDB for almost 50 years and a full member for close to 40 years, since 1982. The E-Lab fund will be used to support innovative entrepreneurship and erect E-Labs across the selected African countries.
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