Youth Entrepreneurship

This Thematic focus area aims to contribute to the sustainable recovery of living standards among the conflict-affected population in Eastern DRC by nurturing and promoting entrepreneurial capabilities, supporting business skills development, providing grants for starting micro-enterprise and expanding business support services. As indicated in various studies , experts have shed light on the importance of empowering entrepreneurs and creating employment in the conflict zones—even while conflicts are still ongoing— to improve the level of security in post-conflict countries. ADJ-CONGO intends to promote creation of small businesses in specific sectors such as textile and garment (tailoring), agribusiness and services (saloon etc…). It will support small, micro, and medium businesses with potential to create much-needed jobs in the local communities where few jobs exist. This could serve as mechanisms for finding lasting innovative solutions for critical problems in the areas:

• BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

i.Textile and Garment (Tailoring)
Given its employment and demand potentials, ADJC looks at supporting conflict affected local community with interest and entrepreneurial aspiration in the textile and garment sector to acquire the necessary skills and equipment to be able to run their small businesses in the sector. ADJC will target more the young widow with tailoring skills in sewing to help them have a source of income. After training they will be facilitated to establish workshops and get market access for their products

ii. Promoting agribusiness

In most rural areas, agriculture remains and forms the main source of economic activities. However, conflict leads to contractions in agricultural production through different channels. In regions with intense conflict, yearly agricultural revenues per hectare are lower. Changes in land use from perennial to seasonal crops, and reductions in agricultural investments seem to be driving this association. Costs of conflict are present beyond those imposed by violent shocks. Recognizing the importance of agricultural sector and food security, ADJC prioritizes supports towards increasing entrepreneurial capabilities of young people in Eastern DRC as one of the means to sustainably address hunger and malnutrition and ongoing food price crisis which may be severe in the conflict areas. The project aims also aims at increasing youth contribution to the food systems. The support will include basic agricultural practices. DRC has huge arable land unfortunately due to lack of good agricultural practice skills people have food shortage. To solve that problem, we train DRC youth in good agricultural practices and in return they teach they parents

iii. Supporting Small scale Services Businesses

With an increasing demand of different services in different areas of Eastern DRC, ADJC will facilitate potential entrepreneurs willing to venture into small scale business services such beauty and saloons, micro-finances, restaurants, hospitality, and tourism, etc… to acquire specific skills and start-up capital as well as technical assistance as they establish their small businesses.

• SKILLS DEVELOPMENT

iv. Financial support to orphans’ education

There thousands of children left out with no opportunity to access education to the fact that they have either completely lost their parents (mom and dad) or the dad only, but the mom has no single means left with her to raise and educate the kids. ADJC mobilizes resources to financially support those orphans

v. Promoting digital literacy in rural areas

For the youth to cope with today’s World, they need to acquire at least basic digital skills to be able to use digital devises that could open doors and opportunities in the digital World. However, in conflict or post conflict areas, especially in rural areas, the youth have no opportunity to access digital or IT equipment and training facilities in digital literacy. ADJC will establish an ICT centre with IT equipment and put in place training program especially for the rural youths

vi. Technical and vocational educational trainings

Technical and vocational education and training (TVET) promotes all forms and levels of education and training that provide knowledge and skills related to occupations in various sectors of economic and social life through formal, non-formal and informal learning methods in both school-based and work-based learning. ADJC looks at supporting specific TVET programs that prepare the youth for a specific job, trade, or craft and a wide range of occupational fields, production, services, and livelihoods that are manual in nature or use of technological equipment and are considered non-academic. These programs will include a specific program on language Training such as English which is increasingly becoming a global business language even in French speaking countries. Training the youth in English gives them advantages to work across multi-language work environment and be competitive at regional job market

• TALENT PROMOTION FOR YOUTH

ADJC will promote a filming and Music school. DRC is known at a regional level as music talented people. To tap into that potential, we train youth on practical filming and music skills to revolutionize the industry in rural areas. These initiatives will include sport s activities that will contribute to reconciliation. AJDC recognizes the important role that sport, and entertainment activities can play in unity and reconciliation of the South Kivu communities. We organize inter-community games and concerts with themes to promote peace, human rights, and cohabitation

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