Africa-Press – Liberia. iCampus Liberia, in collaboration with Mercy Corps, has launched Promoting Sustainable Partnerships for Economic Transformation (PROSPECTS) IV, a program focused on market system development for youth employment in Montserrado County.
The program is expected to provide young people with a decent source of income, with beneficiaries undergoing mandatory training on good market system development and entrepreneurship.
The PROSPECTS-IV market system development for youth employment launch, which took place on Monday, June 26, at the iCampus Wologisi Hall on Carey Street, brought together representatives from the Swedish Embassy, the Business Startup Center (BSC) Monrovia, the Accountability Lab, the Ministry of Commerce, Mercy Corps, and iCampus staff, including a group of young business entrepreneurs, etc.
iCampus is Liberia’s first innovation and Coworking space fishing on technology, entrepreneurship and inclusion.
PROSPECTS IV builds on previous Government of Sweden investments through PROSPECTS one to three but moves away from the direct delivery model to facilitate systemic change through the application of a market-systems development-based approach to creating decent and productive employment.
Luther D. Jeke, Chief Executive Officer of iCampus Liberia, who provided the overview of the launch, explained that the collaboration is actually intended to address the underemployment of Liberian youth.
According to him, the collaboration is actually intended to address the underemployment of Liberian youth.
“So, our collaboration with Mercy Corps is going to focus on shifting norms and mindsets towards business and jobs,” he said.
He, however, disclosed that under the collaboration, there will be several activities that they will be hosting, including something called the Montserrado County Entrepreneurship Ecosystem Study.
Going further, iCampus Liberia’s CEO said the study under the collaboration is to also understand the entrepreneurship ecosystem in Montserrado County because the pilot is in Montserrado County.
“Mercy Corps is collaborating with other local partners to do different things, whether in agriculture, digital transformation, or other areas that they are focusing on, but our collaboration is specifically working with young people to change their mindsets towards unemployment and jobs,” Jeke maintained.
He stressed that the collaboration would also host a series of SME events and investor E-talk nights where business owners, heads of local banks, and potential investors would talk about these issues, including the unique opportunities and challenges entrepreneurs have in their businesses.
According to him, there are a lot of things they will be doing under this collaboration with Mercy Corps, which is just a pilot project that runs from May to October 2023, and they hope to extend it to others.
“So, Mercy Corps is collaborating with other local partners to do different things, whether in agriculture, digital transformation, or other areas that they are focusing on, but our collaboration is specifically working with young people on changing mindsets,” the CEO of iCampus Liberia asserts.
Jeke further disclosed that iCampus Liberia, about a year ago, came into contact with Mercy Corps when they were about to kick off this particular program that is actually focused on market system development.
“So, today we are here to talk about the launch of our PROSPECTS-IV collaboration with Mercy Corps under the market system development program, specifically looking at shifting norms and mindsets,” he said.
Jeke also used the occasion to launch what they called the Entrepreneurship Business Clinic, which will shift the minds of Liberians toward doing business and will also be used as a hub for young people to do international tests for academic admission.
He said: “This place is for everybody; it is not targeting a particular individual, but everybody from all walks of life — once you mean well and want to contribute to something positively, we have a space for you here.”
Jeke further calls on young people to make use of the space that will help them become future entrepreneurs.
He then acknowledged Mercy Corps Liberia and the Swedish Development Agency through its Embassy for their huge support in ensuring that the youth are given space.
Also speaking, Prutus Sackie, Program Officer for Private Development and Employment at the Swedish Embassy, said what amazed him about the PROSPECTS program is the fact that, after ten years working with Mercy Corps, it primarily provides jobs for young people in Liberia.
Sackie, who spoke on the partnership intoned that Mercy Corps, has spent many years using seven different approaches to work directly with young people, primarily to change things by creating employment for young people.
“This program is a market development approach. The idea is that it is not just going to work directly by giving young people employment, an internship, or money to start a business, but to look at the sector and see what the primary barriers are in that sector. And how do you fix those barriers, and when that is fixed, it can enable an economy to grow and create employment?” he said.
Sackie voiced out that sometimes it is not only the absence of a job or skills but also the mindset and perception that we have, and I think that is where iCampus comes in, adding, “And I am very proud of Mercy Corps because even the partner that they have chosen for this contribution is so trusting, and you can see the seriousness in them. One of the contributions is to work on financial inclusion, and they are working with Lonestar Cell MTN.”
Earlier, Sophie Dresser, who spoke on behalf of Mercy Corps Liberia Country Director Rabi Sani, commended iCampus for its collaboration and dedication to helping Liberian youth acquire decent jobs, adding, “We celebrate your hard work and commitment to finding solutions to the challenges of youth unemployment in this country.”
Dresser said, “We are excited about this partnership and super lucky to find a partner like iCampus who is so established and who has the recognition, skills, and expertise to address norm shifting efforts that we hope to do with PROSPECTS. We are very lucky to work with you and your team.”
She, however, thanked the Swedish Embassy for the ten plus years of support it provides to Mercy Corps and the long partnership they have had with the Swedish government in order to foster youth underemployment in Liberia.
Dresser, who is the Director of Program at Mercy Corps, told the gathering that she was so excited to launch this next phase of youth unemployment in Liberia on the market system approach in collaboration with iCampus.
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