Designing a Youth Employment and Entrepreneurship Pathway in Senegal

My role was to assess the underlying needs, develop the programme’s intervention strategy, and design a structured pathway offering tailored support for young people pursuing either paid employment or self-employment and entrepreneurship.

Areas of expertise: Programme Design · Youth Employment · Entrepreneurship · Organisational Development

Location: Kahone, Kaolack, Khelcome Birame and Latmingué municipalities, Kaolack Region, Senegal

Lead organisation: Association Actions pour le Développement du Sénégal (AADS)

My role: Programme Design and Pathway Development

Project Background

As part of the local rollout of the FIT! Senegal Initiative, AADS was invited to develop a programme to support young people’s transition into employment and economic activity.

I was already advising the association on organisational development and resource mobilisation when I took responsibility for designing the proposal, working closely with its president. Her knowledge of the local context, together with consultations involving local authorities, helped inform our understanding of the needs and circumstances of the communities concerned.

The Challenge: Turning Skills into Economic Opportunities

The contextual analysis and information gathered locally highlighted a challenge extending beyond access to vocational training. Some young people already possess practical skills, qualifications or initial work experience, yet struggle to translate these assets into employment or a viable livelihood.

The municipalities involved had already undertaken vocational training initiatives. However, where formal employment opportunities are limited, acquiring a trade or professional skill does not necessarily lead to economic inclusion.

I therefore designed the pathway around a specific challenge: helping young people move from skills acquisition to employment or viable economic activity, while complementing existing training provision.

My Contribution to Programme Design

Drawing on the local context analysis and discussions with AADS, I translated the identified needs into a structured programme model, supported by an implementation framework, monitoring arrangements and a budget.

My work included:

• analysing socioeconomic information and findings from local consultations;
• defining the programme’s focus, target groups, and participant selection and placement criteria;
• designing two distinct pathways and establishing their activities, stages and support mechanisms;
• defining expected results, deliverables, performance indicators and monitoring arrangements;
• incorporating gender considerations and the needs of vulnerable young people into participant selection and support;
• identifying the types of partners required for implementation;
• developing the programme budget and implementation schedule;
• refining the proposal in response to UCOOPIA’s feedback.

The Programme Model

The pathway is designed to support 30 young people aged 18 to 35, with 10 participants pursuing paid employment and 20 pursuing self-employment or entrepreneurship. It also prioritises women’s participation and provides particular consideration for young people facing additional barriers to economic inclusion.

The programme begins by identifying relevant local stakeholders and potential employment and business opportunities. Participant selection and individual assessments then inform placement into the appropriate pathway and the development of a personalised action plan.

Pathway 1: Employment

This pathway focuses on helping participants demonstrate their existing skills, strengthen their job-search capabilities, prepare applications and interviews, and engage with potential employers.

It also provides for employer outreach, job-matching opportunities and access to internships where these may offer a practical route into employment.

Pathway 2: Self-Employment and Entrepreneurship

This pathway supports participants seeking to establish a business or develop an existing income-generating activity, depending on their starting point.

It covers opportunity assessment, business model development, progressive business planning, financial management and commercial development.

Individual coaching, practical experimentation and connections with business support organisations and potential financing partners provide additional support according to participants’ needs.

Both pathways include ongoing monitoring of participants’ progress and employment or business outcomes.

The Design Principles Behind the Pathway

Three principles shaped the programme’s overall approach.

Build on existing skills and experience. The pathway targets young people who already have relevant skills, qualifications, experience or a viable economic opportunity to pursue. Rather than duplicating vocational training, it focuses on the barriers that prevent them from entering employment or developing an economic activity, including job-search challenges, business planning, market access and access to resources.

Respond to local economic realities. Employer outreach, stakeholder engagement and market opportunity mapping are built into the early stages of implementation. This approach is intended to align participants’ plans with opportunities identified locally and engage organisations that can help turn those opportunities into practical outcomes.

Tailor support to different routes into economic activity. Securing paid employment and establishing or developing a business require different skills, networks, support mechanisms and measures of progress. The two-pathway structure reflects these differences, while individual assessments and follow-up allow support to be adapted to each participant’s circumstances.

Outcome of the Design Assignment

The proposal was refined following feedback from UCOOPIA and additional information gathered locally.

My assignment resulted in a structured, costed programme framework defining the target participants, support pathways, implementation arrangements, expected results and monitoring mechanisms.

Actual outcomes—including access to employment and the establishment or development of income-generating activities—will be documented as the programme is implemented.