• Mali introduces entrepreneurship training into basic education curriculum

• Reform aims to promote self-employment, ease pressure on public hiring

• Program rolled out under PRODEC 2 education development plan

Mali on Monday, Dec. 15, officially introduced entrepreneurship training modules into its basic education curriculum, the Ministry of National Education said.

The launch ceremony was held at the headquarters of the National Directorate of General Secondary Education and brought together senior ministry officials. The event was chaired by Boubacar Dembélé, secretary general of the Ministry of National Education, and attended by the minister’s chief of staff and the third vice-president of the National Council of Malian Employers (CNPM).

In a statement, the ministry said the initiative marks a major step toward embedding entrepreneurial skills in school curricula. Dembélé said the reform aims to ease pressure on public sector hiring while encouraging self-employment, innovation, and civic engagement, noting that the state cannot provide jobs for all young people. He added that stronger partnerships with the private sector would help generate new employment opportunities.

Representing the Minister of National Education, Dembélé said the rollout of the modules forms part of the implementation of PRODEC 2, the government’s new ten-year education development program, and reflects recommendations adopted at the National Forum on Education. He said the ministry would provide technical expertise and support to promote an entrepreneurial culture in schools.

Sidi Dagnoko, third vice-president of the CNPM, said the project aligns with the employers’ organization’s “Human Capital” strategy, which emphasizes closer cooperation between the education system and the private sector.

The program will be rolled out progressively, starting at the basic and secondary levels before being extended to public and private universities. The final report recommends introducing the modules from the earliest years of schooling to foster initiative and autonomy at a young age and better align education with socioeconomic realities.

The move comes as around 300,000 young people enter Mali’s labor market each year, often without adequate qualifications, a figure that exceeds the state’s capacity to create formal jobs, according to International Labour Organization (ILO) data cited by le360 Afrique. Mali’s unemployment rate stood at 3.5% in 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics, in a labor market dominated by informality and precarious employment.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou