Understanding Youth Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship Skills: Ethiopia

Youth in Action is a six-year youth livelihood program, in partnership with The MasterCard Foundation, YiA aims to improve the socio-economic status of 40,000 out-of-school young people in rural Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ethiopia, Malawi, and Uganda. Through the development of youth’s foundational skills (literacy, numeracy, and financial literacy), transferable life skills and entrepreneurship skills, they are empowered to make informed pathway choices for the future. 

In Ethiopia, launched in 2012, Youth in Action aims to reach 9,050 girls and boys aged 14 to18 with the focus on the enterprise pathway. In this pathway, youth are mentored to identify viable local business ideas – that they choose themselves – develop their business plans, and use the start-up grant to start their businesses.

This brief presents summary findings of a qualitative research study in Ethiopia’s Youth in Action (YiA) program. The aim of the study was to understand the mechanisms that affect youth self-employment and entrepreneurship skills in rural Ethiopia. Specifically, the study explored YiA youth’s perception of their self-employability skills, the mechanisms that have influenced their skills and business choices, and the importance of monetary and in-kind support from YiA.