New research points toward an investment in VERY YOUNG entrepreneurs to unlock peer-to-peer driven employment growth
It also provides an important counter perspective on a commonly held view
that older entrepreneurs are more successful and more impactful
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, May 26, 2020/ -- Investments in supporting successful transitions from school and
university directly to entrepreneurship could unlock significant
employment gains in Africa, this is according to a new research paper
from the Anzisha Prize (www.AnzishaPrize.org) which has worked with very young African entrepreneurs for over a
decade. To produce the report, the Anzisha Prize commissioned in-depth
desk top reviews and new field research from leading academics as well
as held workshops with key stakeholders across the continent over more
than a year.
“We really wanted to respond to this lack of data around the questions
we were dealing with in a way that could credibly influence policy,”
comments Josh Adler, Executive Director, “In our most recent analysis,
just 77 of our 122 Anzisha Fellows had created over 2000 dignified work
opportunities and 56% of those jobs were for young people under 25. In
addition, 3 of our Anzisha Fellows have placed a total of 825 people in
jobs of which 60% were under 25. We wanted more evidence to support what we were seeing in our program, so commissioned all this research
activity.”
The Very Young Entrepreneur Scenario research project
kicked off in late 2018 with a green paper and series of participatory
workshops to explore what the future might hold for Very Young (15 to 25 year-old) Entrepreneurs in Africa. Dozens of organisations participated over several months, with clear recommendations emerging for 5 key
stakeholder groups – Educators, Parents, Investors, Incubators and
Policy Makers. Most interestingly, a pattern emerged around who the most important yet poorly served stakeholder group is; parents.
“We are hoping that this research leads to far more organisations that
are trying to tackle employment and education in Africa focusing their
energies on parents” continues Adler. “We see parents as the forgotten
stakeholder of the entrepreneurship ecosystem.”
The report is careful not to paint youth entrepreneurship as a panacea.
Rather, very young entrepreneurship and successful transitions from
school to entrepreneurship are under-invested so significant gains could be realised if that share of wallet was increased. It also provides an
important counter perspective on a commonly held view that older
entrepreneurs are more successful and more impactful.
“Through the Anzisha Prize, we have observed that young entrepreneurs
are more likely to hire other young people,” comments Peter Materu,
Chief Program Officer at Mastercard Foundation, which has supported the
Anzisha Prize since inception. “Now, we have evidence that builds the
case for supporting and encouraging entrepreneurship at a very young
age, and helps us better understand how to do that. Certainly
entrepreneurship, especially at such young ages, is not for everyone.
But this report is shaping a narrative that positions young people as
economic change agents.”
Key insights that stand out from the research process underpinning Anzisha’s scenario work:
Very young entrepreneurship sits at the intersection of three
established policy spaces – education policy, small enterprise policy
and youth policy – and often gets lost in between.While there are many initiatives taking place to support the growth of (youth) entrepreneurship in African countries, there is very
little evidence available to measure progress and determine impact,
and even less so when the focus is on very young entrepreneurs.Very young entrepreneurs create jobs for other young people across
the continent, despite the lack of investment in this age group. Very young entrepreneurs have less access to credit than older
entrepreneurs. New innovations in lending and investment are needed to
support the job creation potential of very young entrepreneurs.For many very young entrepreneurs, the dominant source of financing remains family and friends.Early exposure to entrepreneurship, and quality entrepreneurship
education integrated into existing education systems is essential to
foster entrepreneurial aspirations.
The Very Young Entrepreneur Scenario for Africa report is available freely at https://AnzishaPrize.org/scenario.
Website: www.AnzishaPrize.org/apply
Facebook: www.facebook.com/anzishaprize
About the Anzisha Prize:
The Anzisha Prize (www.AnzishaPrize.org) seeks to fundamentally and significantly increase the number of
job-generative entrepreneurs in Africa. We test, implement, and then
share models for identifying, developing, and connecting high potential, very young entrepreneurs (15-22 years old) – and their parents and
teachers. These efforts will ensure our ecosystem’s collective success
in creating a pipeline of entrepreneurs with the capabilities for scale. The Anzisha Prize is a partnership between African Leadership Academy
and Mastercard Foundation.
About African Leadership Academy:
African Leadership Academy (ALA) (http://AfricanLeadershipAcademy.org) seeks to transform Africa by developing a powerful network of
entrepreneurial leaders who will work together to achieve extraordinary
social impact. Each year, ALA brings together the most promising young
leaders from all 54 African nations for a pre-university program in
South Africa with a focus on leadership, entrepreneurship and African
studies. ALA continues to cultivate these leaders throughout their
lives, in university and beyond, by providing on-going leadership and
entrepreneurial training and connecting them to high-impact networks of
people and capital that can catalyse large-scale change. For more
information, visit http://AfricanLeadershipAcademy.org.
About the Mastercard Foundation:
The Mastercard Foundation (www.MastercardFdn.org) seeks a world where everyone has the opportunity to learn and prosper.
Through its Young Africa Works strategy, Canadian EleV program, and
Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program, the Foundation works with
partners to ensure that millions of young people, especially young
women, access quality education, financial services, and dignified work. The Mastercard Foundation was established in 2006 through the
generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company. The Foundation is independent with its own Board of Directors and CEO.
For more information and to sign up for the Foundation’s newsletter, please visit www.MastercardFdn.org. Follow the Foundation on Twitter at @MastercardFdn.
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