EDC Continues to Expand Youth Workforce Development in Rwanda

WALTHAM, MA | EDC has been selected by USAID/Rwanda to lead a new five-year, $20.5 million initiative known as Huguka Dukore. The new initiative will build on the success of the EDC-led Akazi Kanoze (AK) Youth Livelihoods Project, which trained more than 21,000 Rwandan youth to prepare for and land jobs.

Huguka Dukore, which means “get trained and let’s work” in Kinyarwanda, will design and deliver employment and self-employment preparation programs for youth to meet the needs of private sector firms who require particular skills. EDC and its partners will assist Rwanda’s public and private sectors to expand on the AK model, which provided young people with work-readiness skills training as well as support services such as job placement and coaching. Huguka Dukore plans to work with 40,000 of the country’s most vulnerable youth.

The new project builds on the foundation of AK which began in 2009. Since then, the AK work has grown and diversified with support from the Government of Rwanda, The MasterCard Foundation, DFID, and other partners. AK has been acknowledged as an overwhelming success in Rwanda, with surveys showing that 65 percent of graduates found employment within six months of completing the program.

“We are so pleased to be able to strengthen and build on the efforts of our work in Rwanda,” said EDC Senior Vice President Nancy Devine. “The success of our approach has not only inspired Huguka Dukore, it has led to replication in other countries. It’s very exciting.”

EDC will lead partner organizations Akazi Kanoze Access (AKA), Catholic Relief Services (CRS), Connexus Corporation, Souktel, and TakingITGlobal as part of the project, which will continue through 2020.

EDC designs, implements, and evaluates programs to improve education, health, and economic opportunity worldwide. Visit www.edc.org.