Africans at a cybercafe
The Rockefeller Foundation has announced that it will pledge $97 million to create jobs in the digital field in Africa as part of its ongoing initiative to create jobs for young Africans in the rapidly growing information and communications technology (ICT) enabled sectors in the continent.
Judith Rodin, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, made the announcement on Thursday at the World Economic Forum on Africa in Cape Town, South Africa.
“There is no better place to announce the official launch of the Rockefeller Foundation’s Digital Jobs Africa initiative, a $97 million investment,” Rodin said.
Among other things, the funds would be channelled towards training high-potential but disadvantaged, unemployed youths and getting them jobs in digital fields such as service center support, online research and Web design. The initiative plans to reach out to one million youths over the next seven years and would focus on six African countries- Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa, Kenya, Egypt and Morocco – all of which have dynamic and growing services sectors and offer the potential for continued ICT development.
The Foundation aims to partner and collaborate with private sector companies, development organizations and government agencies to identify opportunities for digital jobs.
“We will leverage the rising demand from African-based organisations, governments moving to e-government using digital tools, and multinational corporations, to create sustainable employment opportunities, which is a win-win for all, cutting costs in many cases by 40%, while increasing incomes for workers by 40% to 200%,” Rodin said in a statement.
Read more about the Rockefeller Foundation’s Digital Jobs Africa initiative here.
Follow me on Twitter @EmperorDIV
