South Sudan Youth Enterprise Development and Capacity Building Project

T he Global Center on Adaptation (GCA) is working with the African Development Bank to mainstream entrepreneurship opportunities and jobs in climate adaptation and resilience into the Youth Enterprise Development and Capacity Building (YEDCB) Project. GCA will promote entrepreneurship opportunities and jobs in climate adaptation and climate resilience across different sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, aquaculture, and fishing. GCA is providing this support through the Africa Adaptation Acceleration Program (AAAP).

The project aims to enhance the employability of and create jobs for young women and men between 18 and 35 years old in South Sudan by strengthening the private sector, building entrepreneurship skills, and improving the enabling environment. The project’s development objectives are to:

  • increase the employability of youth by facilitating access to skills development, business development support, and financing
  • enhance public service delivery through institutional and human capacity development

To ensure that young people with the potential to grow as entrepreneurs are self-employed and create employment for others through their sustainable businesses, the project will address:

  • weaknesses in entrepreneurship skills
  • lack of access to finance
  • lack of access to markets and information
  • capacity challenges of government institutions for enhanced public service delivery, especially to support Micro and Small Enterprise development and youth economic empowerment

Investment Value Influenced by GCA

$9.09 million

Beneficiaries

3036 youths from South Sudan

Implementation Period

2021–2025

Partner

GCA’s Added Value

GCA is providing the following technical assistance to the project:

  • Feasibility studies and assessment of job opportunities in adaptation within the program, to identify and measure possible adaptation jobs that can be created through the program
  • Assessment of skills required for new adaptation jobs to be harnessed from the program, to support the skill development components

Expected Outcomes

GCA’s technical assistance will reinforce the following outcomes:

  • 5,573 jobs created, 30 percent of which are adaptation jobs (1,671)
  • 3,510 newly established youth-led Micro and Small Enterprises