Suwilanji Moomba is not like most youth in Zambia \u2014 she has a job. Most of her peers, however, struggle to find decent and steady work. Some are unemployed and others resort to working in short-term, odd jobs. In fact, the International Labour Office (ILO) estimates that youth are three times as more likely to be unemployed than adults and are often exposed to lower quality of jobs despite achieving a higher education.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have so many graduates looking for jobs and there is too much competition,\u201d the twenty-six-year-old says.<\/p>\n
For Suwilanji,\u00a0entrepreneurship was her savior. After finishing her university education, she struggled to find a steady position. She noticed that there were no banking agents or bank branches near her uncle\u2019s house and he had to travel far just to deposit money. That\u2019s when the entrepreneur spark lit for Suwilanji and she decided to open her own money transaction shop. Today, she runs several of these shops around Lusaka.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think of myself as an entrepreneur,\u201d she exclaims.<\/p>\n
Entrepreneurship is a good option for young people. Being an entrepreneur myself, I have no limits as I\u2019m able to explore new things every day.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Can Suwilanji\u2019s success as an entrepreneur serve as a model to help solve the youth unemployment problem?<\/p>\n
Rising Unemployment Rates<\/h2>\n
Youth unemployment is large and growing. An estimated 475 million new jobs need to be created over the next ten years to fulfill the growing numbers of youth looking for steady work. In Africa alone, over 600 million people are under the age of 25 and 72% of them are unemployed or underemployed.<\/p>\n
The international community is hoping to tackle these alarming numbers by focusing on building the appropriate skills for youth to obtain jobs. The United Nations established\u00a0World Youth Skills Day<\/a>\u00a0to shed light on this issue and to foster viable work opportunities for youth around the world. By 2030, the United Nations is hoping to reverse youth unemployment as stated in Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 8.<\/p>\n
How FINCA is Creating Young Entrepreneurs<\/h2>\n
FINCA is tackling the problem by investing in\u00a0alternative delivery channels<\/a>, like agency banking, to help the unemployed build businesses and create jobs. A\u00a0banking agent<\/a>\u00a0is a shopkeeper or merchant who is contracted by FINCA to process clients\u2019 transactions where FINCA doesn\u2019t have a brick-and-mortar presence. The agents are equipped with POS machines, a portable device that connects to bank accounts through biometric fingerprints.<\/p>\n
FINCA staff extensively trained banking agents in financial services. For Suwilanji, this training was a game changer.<\/p>\n
FINCA has really helped with my financial skills. I studied PR and I didn\u2019t have an interest in accounting or bookkeeping. But with money transaction services and as a FINCA banking agent, you deal with money every day. My financial skills have really improved.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Ruth Simwanza Mulenga, Chief Commercial Officer of FINCA Zambia, adds, \u201cFINCA services give these youths an opportunity to be able to engage with their community. We train them in financial literacy and financial skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the commissions earned as a FINCA banking agent, Suwilanji has not only been able to support herself but to also invest in other business opportunities. She currently facilitates customer service training for other small business owners.<\/p>\n
Suwilanji is helping her young peers to find jobs too. She employs seven people, all in their twenties.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s exciting to empower people,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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