Village Capital, with the support of IFC, is launching Future of Work Africa 2021 - an accelerator that supports and scales startups across sub-Saharan Africa that help young people find jobs, build careers and prepare for the future of work.

Application deadline:22 January 2021.

Africa's labour force is set to be the largest in the world over the next few decades, with hundreds of millions of people under the age of 25 starting to look for work. But there simply aren't enough quality jobs for this young and growing population. Almost half of the continent's young people are unemployedand in some countries, more than four out of five work in the informal sector, with fluctuating incomes and few if any benefits. Although agriculture has long been the continent's main sector, increasingly more of Africa's population is moving to urban areas,where formal sector jobs are in short supply.

he accelerator will support entrepreneurs who build for-profit, market-based solutions across the spectrum of education, employment and benefits that can help young people in sub-Saharan Africa better prepare for and manage the future of work.

Eligibility

Enterprises must deal with youth unemployment through the following:

• Innovations such as upskilling/reskilling programmes
• Accreditation programmes
• New approaches to learning or job matching
• Financial health for informal workers, and/or
• Edtech.

THE WORKSHOPS

Future of Work Africa 2021 will have two cohorts, each with between 10 and 15 entrepreneurs. We are not yet sure whether the programme will be face-to-face or virtual. A decision will be made as we get closer to the workshop dates.

Cohort 1

Workshop 1: 10 to 14 May

Workshop 2: Jun 7-11

Cohort 2

Workshop 1: May 24-28

Workshop 2: Jun 21-25

The deadline to apply for this programme (for both cohorts) is 22 January 2021.

For more information:

Visit the official page of the Village Capital Future of Work Africa Accelerator Programme 2021