Zimbabwe:Works

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The Zimbabwe:Works program was a training and financing initiative aimed at both work readiness and developing entrepreneurial talent.
What are the main aims and objectives?

The Zimbabwe:Works program primarily aimed to empower marginalized young people in Zimbabwe, with a particular focus on young women, by enhancing their employability and entrepreneurial skills. The initiative sought to address the high unemployment rates among youth by providing job readiness training, entrepreneurship support, and access to microfinance. It aimed to equip participants with critical life skills, boost their self-esteem, and foster civic engagement through the International Youth Foundation's Passport to Success® curriculum. By collaborating with local NGOs and businesses, the program also intended to build sustainable business acumen and create a supportive ecosystem for youth employment and entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe.

How does the program work?

In collaboration with business development organizations and training institutions, Zimbabwe:Works provided a comprehensive array of non-financial services aimed at fostering entrepreneurship among youth. These services included financial literacy training, business development support, assistance with proposal development, marketing, record keeping, and compliance with legal regulations. Participants also received mentorship from owners of established small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other local leaders. The program integrated vocational training with soft skills and entrepreneurship education, offering opportunities for participants to showcase and pitch their business ideas. Additionally, representatives from microfinance institutions (MFIs) were encouraged to participate in the training to help set expectations.

Once the youth had received adequate training, Zimbabwe:Works connected them with supportive microfinance institutions. These institutions collectively provided $1.5 million in loans to the trained youth. Additionally, a two-way referral system was established between the microfinance institutions and business development partners to ensure that the youth were well-prepared to qualify for the loans.

A key aspect of the program was its financial literacy component which included: 

  • Budgeting: Teaching participants how to create and manage budgets effectively, balancing spending, saving, investing, and charitable giving.
  • Investment Knowledge: Educating youth on key investment concepts such as interest rates, price levels, risk mitigation, and diversification to help them make smarter financial decisions.
  • Understanding Taxation: Providing knowledge on different forms of taxation and how they impact net income, which is crucial for financial literacy.
  • Saving Strategies: Highlighting the importance of saving and providing guidance on how to utilize financial market offerings to achieve personal financial goals.
What is the overall cost?

The Zimbabwe:Works program cost $12.5 million to deliver.

How was it implemented?

Launched in June 2012 and concluded at the end of 2017, The Zimbabwe:Works program was conceived as a collaborative initiative to tackle the pressing issue of youth unemployment in Zimbabwe, particularly focusing on marginalized young women. It was established through a partnership involving major international development agencies, including USAID, the Department for International Development (DFID) of the UK, and the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). These agencies recognized the critical need for targeted interventions to empower young people with the skills and resources necessary to succeed in a challenging economic environment.

The creation of the program involved extensive consultations with local stakeholders, including NGOs, businesses, and government entities, to ensure that the interventions were contextually relevant and sustainable. The International Youth Foundation played a pivotal role in designing the program's curriculum, leveraging their Passport to Success® model, which had been successfully implemented in various other contexts. This curriculum was tailored to address the specific needs of Zimbabwean youth, focusing on life skills, employability, and entrepreneurship. By aligning the program's objectives with the local economic and social landscape, Zimbabwe:Works aimed to create a lasting impact on youth employment and empowerment in the country.

The development of the program was split into four components:

  1. Partner capacity strengthening and gender mainstreaming: Integrated gender dynamics into partner programming, strategic planning, resource decision-making, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems and processes.
  2. Enterprise startup and growth: Improved access to relevant entrepreneurship and business training and development services, mentorship, business awards, and networking opportunities.
  3. Financial inclusion: Increased young women and men’s access to financial services, linked to entrepreneurship and business training activities.
  4. Access to formal sector employment: Increased private sector partnerships focused on supporting youth, particularly young women to access employment in key growth sectors through internships, mentorships, and job placement services.
What impact has been measured?

An impact assessment by the International Youth Foundation found that the program: 

  • Enabled participants to generate a total of $31 million in income and create 6,000 jobs
  • Trained nearly 29,000 young people in total including 20,000 in entrepreneurship and business skills
  • Facilitate internships for roughly 1,500 young people with more than 80% transitioning into formal employments
  • Distributed nearly 5,000 loans worth $750,000 to youth-owned businesses
  • Trained 9,029 in financial literacy
  • On average the newly created businesses employed 2 people 
  • Youth entrepreneurs who obtained loans contributed to a net profit of $21.3 million through business expansion. Additionally, there was an extra net profit of $2.9 million generated from the incremental income increases of employees working in these youth-led businesses.
What lessons can be learned?

Factors that were identified as contributing to success were: (i) offering financial literacy training; (ii) ensuring coordination between business development institutions and financial institutions so that the curriculum aligned with the needs of financial institutions. This was accomplished by encouraging the involvement of financial institutions in business training and implementing a two-way referral process; and (iii) placing importance on follow-up mentoring and support after loans were disbursed.

Notes + Additional Context

This case study draws from the Unlocking Finance for Youth Entrepreneurs report by World Bank. See here for more information on this program and other finance policies aimed at young entrepreneurs.

CURATED BY

Tom Hancock

Research Associate
Global Entrepreneurship Network
United Kingdom