2023 Q2 Board Book (Staff)

The June 26-29th, 2023 Board Meeting focused on the Foundation's strong commitment to its core mission of enabling dignified and fulfilling work for young people, with a focus on both African and Indigenous youth. The Foundation is actively pursuing its 2023 goals, which include driving scale and transformation, assessing the impact of its programs, and developing a pipeline of continental programs.

Key activities and initiatives included:

1) Program Performance Review: The Foundation is actively reviewing the progress of its programs, with a focus on the Young Africa Works initiative and specific country programs like the one in Ghana. This includes assessing the impact of programs and identifying areas for improvement.

2) Strategic Development: The Foundation is focused on implementing roadmaps, shifting to program portfolios, and developing continental programs. This includes a focus on the Entrepreneurship Plus (E+) approach, particularly in sectors such as agriculture and BPO/IT services, and developing a health workforce framework.

3) Geographic Focus: The Foundation is working across several African countries, with specific programs and partnerships in Ghana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Uganda. The Foundation is also supporting Indigenous youth in Canada through the EleV program.

4) Young Africa Works: This initiative is a major focus, with efforts to enable 30 million young people to secure dignified and fulfilling work. To date, 5.6 million young people have been placed in work and 101.6 million people have been reached through the program. The program is prioritizing youth-led organizations and is working to increase the percentage of youth-led partners to 15% by the end of 2023.

5) Scholars Program: This program has committed 47,295 scholarships, with a focus on supporting young people, particularly women, in their educational pursuits.

6) EleV Program: The EleV program is supporting 13,398 Indigenous youth to date and now covers all regions of Canada. The program aims to transform education and employment systems for Indigenous youth.

7) Disability Inclusion: The Foundation has developed a Disability Inclusion Strategy with the aim of enabling 1.5 million young people with disabilities to access dignified work and education.

8) Thought Leadership: The Foundation aims to be a thought leader by documenting its approach, convening critical discussions, and contributing to major events to influence policy and practice. The Foundation is also launching a thought leadership convening series on dignified and fulfilling work.

9) Financial Overview: The Foundation has committed $6 billion in total and disbursed $2.7 billion. A significant portion of this has been committed to African organizations. The financial overview includes the Young Africa Works, Strategic Partnerships, Pan-Africa, EleV, Scholars, and Saving Lives and Livelihoods programs.

10) Partnerships: The Foundation is actively engaging in new partnerships and scaling existing ones, including collaborations with organizations in agriculture, financial inclusion and digital technologies. There are multiple new partnerships being developed in the areas of agriculture, financial inclusion, and education.

11) Saving Lives and Livelihoods Initiative: This initiative continues with a focus on vaccine procurement and supporting long-term health security in Africa. A partnership with Institute Pasteur Dakar (IPD) is aimed at creating a pan-African training centre of excellence for biomanufacturing.

12) Baseline Studies: The Foundation is conducting baseline studies in Young Africa Works countries to assess the impact of its programs. The Ghana baseline study highlights that although Foundation-supported youth are experiencing greater success in accessing and sustaining dignified and fulfilling work, demographic disparities persist.

13) Pan-African Programs: The Foundation is developing Pan-African programs to drive transformation and scale across Africa. This includes the BPO and IT services initiative which aims to create access to 2 million direct jobs and 8 million indirect jobs.

14) Enterprise Risk Management: The Foundation is working to enhance its enterprise risk management framework.

15) Policy and Thought Leadership: The Foundation is scaling up investments in African and Indigenous organizations to advance policy and thought leadership. This includes efforts to improve access to finance and promote disability inclusion.

16) Youth-led Organizations: The Foundation is working with youth-led organizations, as seen by pilot programs in Kenya and Rwanda.

These activities demonstrate the Foundation’s commitment to creating opportunities for young people, focusing on inclusivity, strategic partnerships, and continuous learning and improvement.