AfDB, Tanzania launch $54 mil initiative to drive job creation for youth in Zanzibar’s blue economy
Addis Ababa, June 10, 2023 (FBC) – The African Development Bank Group and the Republic of Tanzania have launched the Skills Development for Youth Employability in Blue Economy project.
This is a project that will enable Zanzibari youth to find well-paying maritime and other blue economy jobs, AfDB has stated.
The Bank is providing grant financing of $48.65 million for the project, with the Tanzanian government contributing an additional $5.42 million. Both parties signed the grant agreement on the 21st of November 2022, with its official launch taking place on 17 May 2023.
The project will benefit about 43,000 youth (40% of them female) and prepare over 1,500 of them to start their own enterprises.
African Development Bank Group Tanzania Country Manager Patricia Laverley acknowledged the Government of Zanzibar’s request for support in addressing the peninsula’s high unemployment, especially among the youth.
She said the Bank’s presence at the launch ceremony was evidence of its commitment to advance human capital development and help transform Zanzibar’s economy.
The project is aligned with Zanzibar’s 2021 Education Policy and the Blue Economy Strategy.