Social enterprises can be an option to address youth unemployment

By Allan Nkonge Gwembuga

With spiraling youth unemployment, we have all heard about a ‘missing generation’ of young people. But have we really considered the ripple effect on those who were marginalised to begin with?

Uganda’s varsities having sent out several graduands at the beginning of the New Year, I believe Government ought to invest in more “innovative targeted solutions” to reduce unemployment of the youth which is estimated at over 75% of the youth population in Uganda according to Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS).

The R.A.I.S.E Foundation and Good African Coffee are excellent examples of social enterprises providing practical solutions to the unemployment reality facing many young people, a growing problem for the government and one which may not go away soon. Usually denoted as "Neets", a term used to describe young people not in education, employment or training, it is imperative that these jobless thousands do not become the forgotten generation.

There is a particular risk of this happening, with young people competing with an increased number of candidates who already have practical experience, or who are looking for a new job after redundancy. To be a successful candidate in these circumstances the pressure is on young people to offer employers exactly what is required for the job available.

 “More innovative targeted solutions such as those of The R.A.I.S.E Foundation and Good African Coffee are required, if we are to attack the problem of youth unemployment at its core.  A ‘one size fits all’ programme will always fail those with the greatest need.”

On this matter, entrepreneurship has been identified as a viable alternative to integrate youth into the labour market and break self-reinforcing cycles of poverty. Likewise, the social economy has been recognized for its capacity to integrate marginalized populations. Social enterprises’ characteristics such as serving members’ and community’s needs, aiming at people’s emancipation, provide a starting point to link them with community youth development framework, which also share these goals.

In this sense, I argue that youth entrepreneurship in the social economy could be a tool for youth and community development since social economy initiatives have the twofold dimension of serving member’s needs and community’s needs. Also, youth social enterprises could provide a space for youth emancipation, offering a real life practice in which youth can live challenging and supportive experiences. However, not much is known about social enterprises’ entrepreneurial processes which may be carried out by young people.

Social enterprises apply commercial strategies to maximize improvements in human and environmental well-being, following the Triple ‘P’ Bottom line i.e. People, Profit and Planet as core value. Be it as it may, more is needed. Young people have tremendous potential which needs to be mentored, nurtured, and given support for many to become entrepreneurs, leaders and problem solvers.

To address youth unemployment, young people need access to training that is relevant to the needs of the labour market, establish links with businesses and find effective routes into employment. The rapid growth in social enterprise businesses is one such way to do this, allowing young people direct access to the jobs market in an environment that puts their development at its heart – albeit with a commercial focus.

Therefore, by combining the theoretical knowledge of sciences and arts acquired from school with a social enterprise model, organizations can offer real training and real jobs in a supportive environment. We can offer energetic, vibrant and sustainable solutions to the problem of youth unemployment, reconnecting young people with society and empowering them to lead independent lives.

The writer is a business development and tax consultant