• The BARA+ project, funded by Italy’s Interior Ministry and run by AVSI Foundation, aims to train 450 young Ivorians and support 60 new enterprises.
• The $multi-year program targets four key migration hubs — Abidjan, Bouaké, Daloa, and Korhogo.
• The initiative seeks to offer employment alternatives to irregular migration by combining training, entrepreneurship, and microfinance.

Côte d’Ivoire has launched a new vocational program designed to reduce youth unemployment and discourage irregular migration to Europe.

The AVSI Foundation (Association of Volunteers for International Service) recently launched the BARA+ project: Employment, Dignity and Hope, with funding from the Italian Ministry of the Interior. The two-and-a-half-year program seeks to strengthen professional skills among young Ivorians and improve access to jobs, providing concrete alternatives to illegal migration.

BARA+ targets Abidjan, Bouaké, Daloa, and Korhogo, four cities identified as major sources of emigration. The initiative will train 450 youths in market-relevant trades, support the creation of 20 start-ups and 40 microenterprises, and raise awareness among more than 4,000 people about the risks of irregular migration.

AVSI is implementing the project with Soleterre Onlus, ES Côte d’Ivoire, and microfinance firm DIFIN-SA, supported by national authorities. The National Chamber of Trades, the Youth Employment Agency, and the Directorate General for Ivorians Abroad will help coordinate training, financing, and job placement.

“We place employment at the center of irregular migration prevention,” said Bamba Lassiné, AVSI’s country representative in Côte d’Ivoire. He added that BARA+ adopts an integrated approach combining training, innovation, entrepreneurship, and microfinance to offer local prospects for young people.

BARA+ follows AVSI’s DIGNITÉ project (2021–2024), which helped more than 3,200 vulnerable youths enter the workforce. Similar initiatives are expanding across Africa as governments and development partners confront rising migration pressures.

In Senegal, the Youth Connekt Regional Forum (FRYCS), held in September 2024 in Saint-Louis, gathered about 500 participants in person and 2,500 online, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The forum focused on entrepreneurship, innovation, and civic engagement to boost youth involvement in national development.

In Mali, the Prototype Development Programme (PDP) brought together 22 young innovators at a July 2024 bootcamp at the National Engineering School of Bamako. The UNDP Mali said the project, financed by the Japanese government, supports young people in turning their ideas into working prototypes.

This article was initially published in French by Félicien Houindo Lokossou

Adapted in English by Ange Jason Quenum