Our work is aimed at creating agrifood systems that are resilient, sustainable, and equitable, enabling work opportunities for young people.

Our focus on the sector includes supporting entrepreneurship and job creation for young people across the entire value chain, including processing, trade, retail, and services.

Agriculture plays a dominant role in employment for Africa’s young people and in the continent’s gross domestic product. In line with our goal of driving economic transformation across Africa, we are actively advancing our climate action work to prioritize access to green jobs for young people and foster a resilient and sustainable green economy.

Agrifood Systems Commitment Since Young Africa Works' Inception in 2018

• 9.1 billion Total overall commitment
• 2.4 billion Commitment in the agrifood system
• 47.1 million Total number of program participants
• 13.5 million Total number of program participants in the agrifood system
• 8.3 million Total number of youth-in-work (49% female)
• 4.2 million Number of youth-in-work in the agrifood system (51% female)

Six Ways We Are Working in Agriculture

• The Foundation has committed $9.1 billion to programs that help young people transition into dignified and fulfilling work. To date, 8.3 million are working, and millions more (over 48 million youth; 48 percent women) have benefitted from some form of work-enabling program.

• Through our programs, we work to remove the barriers young women face, including unlocking finance, offering solutions to access land, providing access to quality inputs, equipment, and technology, and addressing the care considerations that young women face through program design.
In the agrifood system, our programs have brought over two million young women into work. On average, young women represent 51 percent of participants in our programs.

• Young agripreneurs are driving agricultural transformation through innovations, leveraging modern new technologies, and professionalizing the sector. Working with institutional partners, we are contributing to more resilient, sustainable, and equitable agrifood systems.

• Our focus is on local solutions: Our work is guided by the goals and aspirations that Africans have for themselves, and the vast array of innovations and solutions they are bringing forward. That is why we are working to ensure that 75 percent of our partnerships are with African organizations. To date, across all programs, 66 percent of our partnerships are with African organizations. In the agrifood sector, 76 percent of our partners are African!

• Moving forward, the Foundation’s agrifood programs will emphasize climate resilience, the use of technology, and digital solutions. With the current strong focus on mechanization, digitalization, and artificial intelligence (AI) as solutions for Africa’s food systems, young people are strategically placed to effectively leverage technology, digital solutions, and innovations to bring innovation and energy into transforming the continent’s food systems.

• We will empower farmers for resilience and growth. We will explore flexible financial solutions like insurance for smallholder farmers and MSMEs, support business development to boost yields and market access, and promote climate-smart and regenerative agriculture. Additionally, we will provide education and training to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices across the value chain, including strengthening the capacity of African universities to contribute to the mitigation of climate change.