UNDP and KOICA strengthen their partnership in Rwanda to support the Scaling-Up of the YouthConnekt initiative

The YouthConnekt programme, initiated in 2012 by the Government of Rwanda and UNDP, has been recognized as a practical and effective solution to develop and harness the potential of the largest age demographic in Rwanda—the youth. After several years of success in providing skills training and facilitating entrepreneurship and job creation for youth, the programme is scaling-up with the generous support of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA).

The signing ceremony on May 16th, 2019 marked the beginning of a four-year (2019-2022) agreement between UNDP, UNFPA, Rwanda’s Ministry of Youth, and the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). During the next four years, KOICA has committed to support the scaling-up of the YouthConnekt initiative with a budget of USD $7,500,000 (approximately RWF 6.8 billion). UNDP, UNFPA and the Government of Rwanda will contribute an additional USD $4.5 million to the programme. With this support, YouthConnekt will expand in three main areas—increasing youth (girls and boys) access to decent jobs in Rwanda, empowering youth to fully engage in policy-making and civic activities and increasing the number of youths using health services and adopting healthy lifestyle practices.