(AfBD) - The African Development Bank, through its Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF), has approved a $999,000 grant to support an initiative to foster green jobs for women, youth and people with disabilities.

The Strengthening Women, Youth and People with Disabilities’ Micro-Entrepreneurship for Green Jobs in Natural Resources (MicroGREEN) project aims to foster inclusive economic growth by providing up to 500 green job opportunities and business development services to marginalized groups in Ghana and Senegal.

The target reach group includes women, youth and people with disabilities/special needs, engaged in managing natural resource sectors such as agroforestry, fisheries and biodiversity.

The MicroGreen project, to be implemented over two years, will empower  with entrepreneurship capacities and business skills at least 1,000 youth aged 15-35 years with female youth-led (60%) , people with disabilities/special needs ( 10%) and other youth (30%) in both countries.

By focusing on capacity building and utilizing value chain-based SME development models, the project endeavors to enhance employment creation, ensure the sustainability of micro-enterprises, and integrate beneficiaries into the economic systems.

Implemented by Invest in Africa, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering African SME growth and creating prosperous economies across the continent, the MicroGREEN project will leverage its expertise in market access, skills development, and access to finance to drive sustainable business growth and job creation in Ghana and Senegal.

The African Development Bank founded the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund in 2017 to promote innovation and entrepreneurship as well as to create durable and sustainable jobs for youth on the continent. The trust fund provides grants to support the Bank’s Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy programs and initiatives. The Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy aims to create 25 million jobs and equip 50 million youth with employable and entrepreneurial skills by 2025.