Youths thinking global, acting local

24 Aug, 2014 - 06:08 0 Views
Youths thinking global, acting local Project CAN-DO Members

The Sunday Mail

Project CAN-DO Members

Project CAN-DO Members

Extra Correspondent

A local youth empowerment organisation, the Young Zimbabweans Business Platform, has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard 2014 Project Inspire People’s Choice Award.

Representatives from the organisation are set travel on an all-expenses-paid trip to not only present a pitch to the final selection committee for the grand prize of US$25 000 but will also be representing Zimbabwe as one of the three African finalists chosen from a pool of over 500 worldwide submissions.

“Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World” is a joint initiative from the Singapore Committee for UN Women and MasterCard, to help young people create a better world for women and girls in Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.

Launched in 2011 to mark the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day and the 25th anniversary of MasterCard Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa-Project Inspire presents 18-35-year-olds with a five-minute platform to pitch their ideas and stand a chance to win a US$25 000 grant.

The grant will go in as capital to kick start their projects.

The submission by YZBP is dubbed “Can-Do” and seeks to empower linkage between rural women vegetable sellers and girls and young women living in the streets of towns and cities.

It responds to the acute need to minimise the vulnerability of homeless girls and young women through creating financial freedom for them while simultaneously addressing the needs of rural women micro-entrepreneurs who they will provide with the training and resources to make advantageous financial decisions.

The food processing plant will be set up in an already identified rural setting, which sources produce from local female agricultural entrepreneurs.

The proceeds from the sales of canned or dried produce will help fund a halfway house and training facility for homeless vulnerable women in the city, thus linking two sets of stakeholders whilst helping both groups.

“Can-Do” will set up an agricultural value addition plant and information centre within the locale of the rural setting where women are already selling vegetables and fruits.

The Can-Do plant will source excess fruit and vegetables, both in and out of season, from the women and process them into either canned or dried produce for sale in urban areas.

In the city, Can-Do will operate a half-way house and training centre.

The purpose of the Can-Do Training Centre will be to empower homeless young women living in the streets of the city and lessen their vulnerability by providing them with short-term accommodation, as well as the knowledge, skills and opportunities to make better lives for themselves.

The girls will be given vocational training, entrepreneurship skills and financial literacy training. The vocational training will concentrate on horticultural production and the preparation and preserving of produce before enhancing other skills-sets to be identified as per individual’s capabilities or talents.

As an additional part of their training, the young women and girls will be directly involved in the marketing, distribution and sale of Can-Do products.

The Can-Do processing plant in the rural setting will act as an ongoing case study for them.

The mission of YZBP is to “bring young Zimbabweans’ business ideas and their implementation towards tangible results”.

Evidenced by the acknowledgment of Project Can-Do on the global scene as a viable project for funding, the YZBP team strives to design, support, lead, and train and provide a platform to young entrepreneurs across Zimbabwe.

In the case of Project Can-Do, the strategic expected accomplishment of the work programme is to improve YZBP’s capacity to design programmes, frameworks and projects that align to national development plans and strategies such as Zim-Asset through food security and nutrition, and value addition and employment creation.

Ultimately YZBP activities under the strategic expected accomplishment draw on the need to synchronise external funders like Project Inspire.

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