Speaking at the End of Project event earlier in April, the Swiss Head of Cooperation Holger Tausch acknowledged all stakeholders for their contributions to the two-phase project, including the co-funders DANIDA and Mastercard (Phase I), SNV, the Government of Tanzania and local service providers. “We hope the project had a lasting impact, both at beneficiary level as well as at the systemic level”, he said.
The OYE project was designed to equip young people with the appropriate technical and life skills to make them attractive to employers and prepared to undertake self-employment, entrepreneurial activities. OYE promoted economic resilience in young people, connecting them with meaningful employment opportunities in markets that provide them with a realistic chance to improve their lives.
In her statement, a beneficiary of the OYE project, Rehema Saguli, emphasised on how the basic life and business skills development training helped her identify opportunities to increase her income. “Before joining the OYE project, I was selling fruits and vegetables, and had a very small-scale tailoring business producing low quality products. Through the project, I have gained the necessary knowledge and skills to grow my business, and participated in various trade shows, which gave me the opportunity to expand my business network. My goal is to build the tailoring industry by employing marginalised youth and providing tailoring skills training at a very reasonable price,” she said. “Through OYE, I also gained the confidence to contest and win a youth leadership position within my community. I now advocate for youth engagement and rights, particularly for young women.”
OYE was implemented in partnership with local service providers, Local Government Authorities (LGAs), financial service providers and the private sector. These partnerships ensured that the means of support for youth become embedded in the local systems and institutions which will ensure the sustainability of the project.
Representing the Government of Tanzania, the Assistant Director at the Prime Minister’s Office - Labour, Youth, Employment and People with Disabilities, Mr. Eliakim Mtawa, expressed his gratitude to the two Embassies, SNV, and other collaborators for their contribution to the project. “This project has not only empowered youth but also built the capacity of the government to continue supporting young people in their efforts to develop their enterprises”, he said. Mr Mtawa congratulated the young beneficiaries present for their successes and encouraged them to use the knowledge they have acquired to help other young people through mentorship.
Some of the key lessons highlighted from OYE Phase II include - basic life skills training is necessary to build self-confidence and an entrepreneurial mindset; vocational skills are best gained from practical hands-on-training through apprenticeship; savings and loan associations are the most effective strategy for meeting financial needs for youth as they are mostly unable to access to formal financial services; and the most accessible youth enterprise development coaches for rural and urban youth are their own peers.
The Embassy of Switzerland supported both phases of the OYE project over a period of six years contributing a total of CHF 8’235’000 (TZS 24 billion).
