Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) Call for Solutions in Kenya 2022

Participate now in the Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) Call for Solutions in Kenya 2022. CFYE is seeking innovative solutions from private sector employers (e.g., manufacturing, service industries) that will address the youth employment challenge by creating, matching, and improving jobs for youth, with a particular focus on counties outside of Nairobi.

Deadline: 4 November 2022

The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) is a 6-year program funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. CFYE aims to create a prosperous future for young women and men in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel & West Africa and Horn of Africa by supporting youth employment initiatives in these regions. These initiatives address specific challenges that inhibit private sector entities’ ability to create scalable solutions for more and better jobs for youth. CFYE supports those initiatives that aligne with aspirations of young women and men in the countries of operation.

The Challenge

Kenya has a large population of job seekers that grows every day. Today, more than 35% of Kenya’s youth population (17 million) is unemployed or underemployed. For young women, this figure can even reach 50%. There are not enough jobs available to decrease the current volume of unemployed young Kenyans or even for all young people entering the labour market.

After Kenya’s devolved governance structure in 2013, counties continue to battle capacity and administrative challenges in order to boost economic growth and job creation. There are now growing partnerships between various actors to support local innovations.

Call for Solutions

Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) Round 2 of Call for Solutions in Kenya 2022 will give priority to partnerships that address county-based development through expansion of job opportunities for youth at scale.  In particular, they are seeking:

• Partnership/Consortium building between private sector employers and other actors, who will collaborate on solutions to impact youth employment 
• County-based approaches: Priority given to projects impacting jobs outside Nairobi County. Projects in Nairobi are also eligible to apply.
• Systemic solutions: Priority also given to innovative models that aim to address systemic bottlenecks, positively impacting the ecosystem as a whole. 

Round 2 will build on the priority sectors identified in the previous round and add the booming Creative sector.

Benefit

• CFYE provides financial and technical support to primarily private sector enterprises that work in collaboration with other development and local organisations. The financial support is in form of co-investment in the initiatives, which can be up to 50% of the total investment needed to deliver the initiative.
• Technical Assistance tailored based on the demand of the delivery partners and an assessment of support needed to deliver the initiatives effectively and efficiently. This support is provided for those initiatives that address specific youth employment challenges identified by CFYE, and which offer solutions to match, create and improve jobs for young women and men.

Eligibility

The following eligibility criteria will apply:

• Principles:  Should be able to adhere to CFYE’s guiding principles & priorities.
• Exclusion Criteria:  The project and organizations involved in delivering the project must pass the FMO exclusion criteria.
• Private-Sector Driven: We are seeking applications from private sector employers. NGOs and business associations are welcome to apply, but they must partner with at least one private sector employer who will create, match, and/or improve jobs for youth. We especially welcome applications from consortiums.
• Local Presence:  The lead organization or at least one consortium partner must have local operating presence in the country. 
• Sector Focus:  Priority given to agri-business, manufacturing companies, the creative sector, and digitally-enabled businesses. Other sectors are also eligible to apply.
• Regional Focus:  While priority given to projects impacting jobs outside Nairobi county, projects in Nairobi also eligible to apply.
• Total Targets:  Proposed project must create, match or improve at least 500 jobs for young men and women. 
• Gender Targets:   Of the total youth employment created, matched, or improved, at least 50% of jobs should be for women.​ 
• Employment Type:  Jobs must be decent. Full-time, permanent jobs preferred. Part-time jobs considered.
• Leverage & CFYE Contribution: The applicant’s co-investment must be at least equal to the contribution requested by CFYE. The minimum CFYE co-investment is € 200.000. Sources of co-funding have to be approved based on the guidance provided​​.
• Youth: The jobs created, matched, or improved would be for youth aged 18-35 years.
• Project Duration: The project duration must be a maximum of two years.

Visit official webpage for further information

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