ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT

An Experiment to Build Social, Health and Financial Capabilities of Vulnerable Girls and Boys in South Africa was presented under the Adolescent Girls and Young Women Track at the 2012 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference. Addressing sexual and reproductive health needs of adolescent girls through economic empowerment initiatives are discussed in this presentation. 

"Markets Go Mobile for Youth Entrepreneurs" was presented under the Enterprise Development Track at the 2012 Global Youth Economic Opportunities Conference. Examined in this presentation is how International Trade Centre is using mobile phones to innovate business communications and trade transactions between producers, marketers, traders and exporters who are disadvantaged by their location and/or the level of economic development. 

Young men and women displaced in Nairobi, Kenya, face many barriers to earning an income. Urban violence, police harassment, restricted access to formal markets, disrupted education and a lack of safe spaces in the community are among the main barriers to attending school and training programs. Refugee youth report that education and training, as well as personal security, are their highest priorities. Young people appear to have little knowledge of their rights, of refugee laws and policies or of the few programs that exist to assist them.

18 years have passed since the MIF began working with youth in Latin America and the Caribbean. Since then, a whole new generation has been born. The risks this generation faces are formidable: those who lack skills and connections will often be shut out of the formal economy. Fortunately, the opportunities rival the risks. The energy, diversity, and potential of young people can be transformed into a vibrant engine of growth for the region. The MIF remains committed to the critical goals of supporting access to jobs and business opportunities for this new generation of youth.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that nearly 75 million young people are unemployed in the world today. This number has increased by more than 4 million since the financial crisis of 2008-9, and the outlook for the medium term is worsening. The global youth unemployment rate is 12.7 percent in 2012, and the ILO projects that it is likely to rise to 12.9 percent by 2017.2

Smarter Economics: Investing in Girls uses findings from the 2012 World Development Report and other sources to show how the simple act of adding girls to development plans delivers a huge economic upside and breaks the cycle of intergenerational poverty. We know what works. We now need the political will to do it. You start the Girl Effect.