Boomerang

Connecting and enhancing collaboration among young entrepreneurs to address youth unemployment in Rwanda.

WHAT
Through qualitative research methods and co-design workshops with entrepreneurs and unemployed youth, the YLabs team developed insights and several prototypes to address youth unemployment in Rwanda.

WHY
Youth unemployment is a challenge around the globe, and in Rwanda, addressing this issue has become a national priority. According to the Labour Force Survey Trends Report by the National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda, one in three 16-24 year olds have dropped out of school but are unemployed and not pursuing additional technical training. Women in urban areas are also more likely to be unemployed or underemployed than their male counterparts.

WHEN
2019

ROLE
PROJECT LEAD
DESIGN RESEARCH
PROTOTYPING
ILLUSTRATION

TEAM
TANYA BHANDARI
SHOLA OLABODE-DADA
MIA HART

LINKS
YLABS

There are 125,000 first-time job seekers entering the labor market each year. With 396,000 waged jobs in the formal economy, the size of the working-age population continues to outpace job creation. Specifically, unemployment rates among Rwandans who have completed upper secondary or tertiary education are double those with no education, suggesting a mismatch between the needs of the job market and the skills of the population.

One of our key insights was that new entrepreneurs and unemployed youth are very interested in learning from more experienced entrepreneurs. Another important insight that informed our prototypes was that both men and women considered entrepreneurial qualities to be traditionally male.

We co-designed several interventions with youth that would create opportunities for such engagements. These included ‘Imirasire Mentorship’ – a peer-to-peer mentorship program that pairs experienced entrepreneurs with those who are just starting out, and ‘Story Nights’ – a monthly event where entrepreneurs get on stage to share their journeys with the public.