Mercy Corps Youth Employment

Nika runs a family business hotel in Georgia, which thanks to an improved, affordable and diversified range of local financial services offer, has sustainably grown. This is one of the hundreds of SMEs that are expanding, creating jobs, improving working conditions, and are becoming more resilient as a result of the work of the Rural Small and Medium Enterprises Development Project (RSMEDP) in Georgia. Read Nika's story, and read the full learning brief here: https://lnkd.in/dZVbRphz https://lnkd.in/d6evp2WZ

Climate change is impacting the future of work, be it in shrinking the quantity and quality of work directly relying on ecosystem services, be it in the growth of the green sectors and demand for labor and new skills! In the midst of this, the most vulnerable remain disproportionately affected by environmental disasters, and similarly most of them are not benefiting from the growth driven by climate change! In an in-depth look at climate and future of work, Sandrine Chetail-Armour offers perspective on how we can support vulnerable populations, and vulnerable countries to mitigate the impact of climate change on employment. https://lnkd.in/dZZPWVdQ

'Current narratives from climate action campaigns and commitments around livestock production are biased, lacking input from communities they seek to change and failing to apply a much needed climate justice lens...Recognizing pastoralism as a dynamic, resilient and ecologically-based economy can highlight its potential to advance climate adaptation and mitigation role.' Read more on Mercy Corps' Approach to Food Security and Livestock Emissions Debate in this compelling piece by Tracey L. Compton: https://lnkd.in/duGYg9Y4

Jobtech platforms are playing and will continue to play a critical role in the future of work in Africa. For young women like Meklit, joining a digital job-matching platform (Afriwork), would mean getting professional experience during studies, earning income to cover expenses and becoming a pillar of economic support for the family. Read her encouraging story and learn more about the approach of LIWAY programme to make digital job matching services relevant, accessible and attractive to young people. https://lnkd.in/dVX2HXBv

"Over 15 years-Mercy Corps Ethiopia developed an Islamic finance ecosystem to address not only access to financial services (proximity, affordability, and convenience) but also impact (uptake, usage, and quality)".   Accelerating #financialinclusion required understanding of the behavioral economics and aiming at a paradigm shift through partnerships, collaboration and innovation. For the lowland regions of Ethiopia this meant, introduction of sharia-compliant financial services; introduction of basic digital financial services; and comprehensive transformation of digital financial services. Read more in this blog piece by Sambou Coly, Director Financial Inclusion, Mercy Corps. https://lnkd.in/dH8FqikY

"What can you do when there aren't enough jobs for the growing population and training more people only creates a larger pool of higher-skilled unemployed people?" Tracey L. Compton reflects on how the Jobtech Alliance, an ecosystem-building initiative steered by Mercy Corps and BFA Global, is responding to the 'youthquake' in Africa, to ensure that unemployed and underemployed young people across the continent can find quality work through digital platforms. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gS5KgCtu

We recently shared how LIWAY a project focused on women and youth employment in Ethiopia, collaborated with a digital platform to sustainably connect gig workers to customers. 𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙙𝙤𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙢𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙟𝙤𝙗𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨?  The story of 𝗦𝗲𝗹𝗮𝗺, a young woman from Ethiopia who found work because of the gig platform, showcases the core of this intervention: the jobs were there, and people were searching for jobs, but the two were not effectively connected. #InterventionSpotlight

Come join our team! Or....maybe don't. Here are some clues that might help you figure out if you're the perfect fit for our latest super exciting employment + tech Senior Advisor role.

Jobtech, the use of technology to enable, facilitate and improve people's productivity to access and deliver quality work, offers enormous potential to drive meaningful employment. That is why LIWAY, a project focused on women and youth employment in Ethiopia saw an opportunity to cooperate with Gooday Online (GoodayOn), a for-profit digital platform / marketplace that connects gig workers to customers requiring domestic help and home repair services. Operated via a mobile app, the platform lowers entry barriers for women and young jobseekers in the labor market and enables high outreach. LIWAY applied market system development approach and supported GoodayOn to develop a profitable business model while simultaneously allowing delivery of low- and no-fee services for poorer and more marginalised users. Read more about the approach and learnings from this work: https://lnkd.in/dcdxKX6C

We have some important news to share with you all at the end of this financial year in Mercy Corps! While it is sad that Gituku N. and Dhita Larasati Radcliffe will be moving on, we wish them the very best in their future. As they continue to be involved in the employment space, this is definitely not a goodbye! Also, look out for job postings from us soon! 👀