Over 60 percent of the youth in Africa are under 25 years, and according to the World Bank, 14.5 percent of that population is unemployed. The International Labor Organisation (ILO) counters these statistics, sharing that most of the youth work within the informal sector, but are under-employed. Whichever way you look at it, Africa’s youth are struggling with meaningful employment and this is morphing into high depression rates, crime, and poor economic development for the continent.
Umurava is providing a stepping stone to address this challenge by connecting Africans to local and global job opportunities. “Our solution is driving and accelerating job creation in Africa because of two important reasons; we are tapping into the digital economy and considering the potential sectors expected to create massive opportunities, and we have recognised that outsourcing, freelancing, and remote working are the future of work,” shares Vivens Uwizeyimana, Founder and CEO Umurava.
Born in rural Rwanda, Vivens Uwizeyimana was great in Mathematics and Sciences, a success that spilled over to his high school studies and enabled him to secure a scholarship in a US-based university. “During my first 6 months at the university, I was exposed to a digital learning environment and discovered skills and jobs available in the digital space. “I reflected on the youth unemployment, under-employment, and challenging traditional educational methodologies I experienced back home, and took it upon myself to create a solution that connects Africa's large workforce to the global job opportunities I was now exposed to.”
Since June 2021, Umurava has matched more than 300 job seekers to both short-term and long-term work opportunities within and beyond Africa.
Accelerating Umurava’s Growth
Vivens joined the Future of Work Africa 2022 Accelerator to advance his business model and expand his partnerships, funding networks, and opportunities. “Village Capital did a great job bringing onboard external experts, investors, and mentors, we started expanding our network with some of them straight away. TheThink Like An Investor' approach was a great learning methodology because it enabled us to use different frameworks to track milestones that would set our company on track and ready for an investment. Peer Due Diligence exercises were equally beneficial as we got feedback from founders on a similar journey.”
Vivens now has feasible plans in place for Umurava Work. “I joined the program with limited information on setting and tracking my company’s metrics. Some components of unit economics, market sizing, and understanding of the competitive landscape were unclear. The program enabled me to address those challenges. My 10-year plan is to develop and match 18,000 job seekers across sub-Saharan Africa with job opportunities.”
Traditional jobs as we know them will not be created quickly enough to mitigate the current and predicted unemployment crisis in sub-Saharan Africa. That is why platforms such as Umurava are so critical. Visit Umurava to learn more about how you can work with the platform to connect with job seekers in the region or employers.
