No Poverty

Challenge Overview: Over 15 million youths in Sub-Sahara Africa who enter the labour market each year cannot find employment either because jobs are few or their skills differ from those required in the market or their skills are below standard or are not skilled at all. These four challenges have held very many youths back in poverty. Income is essential for young people to propelthemselves out of poverty as well as to sustain their journey on realising their full potential. For those reasons, CAEVA UK and CAEVA UG through CCOPID, implement the following interventions to enable youths make income so as to overcome poverty.

Access to Tools and Equipment (ATEF)

Tools and Equipment for technical/vocational work such as welding machines, sewing machines, fully equipped tool boxes for automobile mechanics, catering utensils, etc., are expensive. Most young people with technical and vocational skills are unable to afford these tools. As a result, many of them are not working, therefore held in the cycle of poverty. On that backdrop, CAEVA encourages young people with vocational and technical skills to;

a. Borrow tools and equipment from CAEVA tools bank, use borrowed tools to deliver on business orders gotten from clients, and thereafter, return the borrowed tools to the tools bank after use.

b. Use tools and equipment placed at different workstations at CAEVA Vocational Skills Training Centre. These tools and equipment are only used after training hours.

c. Use CAEVA premises as a workspace, particularly those without workspace.

Revolving Fund for Purchasing Materials for Work

This fund was put in place basing on the fact that most young people with technical and vocational skills do not have money to buy materials such as fabric, metal, wood, etc., to deliver on business orders placed by their clients.

The lack of money to buy work materials likewise holds back skilled young people from utilising the Access to Tools and Equipment Facility, just because, tools and equipment would be useless without materials. On that backdrop, those with business orders can get finance from this Revolving Fund toprocure materials, work, and deliver on orders placed by their respective clients. Funds gotten through this arrangement are returned with a minimal interest. Returning these funds is a sustainability measure whereas the pocket friendly interest charged, helps in steadily increasing on the amount of funds available for issuing in this arrangement. This leads to an increase in the number of skilled young people able to access funds at the same time.

Saving for Tools and Equipment Initiative (STEI)

This involves supporting young people to save money towards buying their tools and equipment. Most young people do not own bank accounts. It is difficult for them to keep hard cash to buy tools and equipment. We encourage young people who take advantage of the Access to Tools and Equipment Facility as well as the Revolving Fund for Purchasing Materials for Work, to keep some of their income with us. Once the amount saved is enough to procure a particular tool or equipment, we buy and give it to him or her.

Enterprise Boost Support

This is provided by:

a. Creating opportunities for peer learning and networking.
b. Linking skilled young people to other agencies that offer start-up capital/finance/support.
c. Identifying market for products and services made/provided by skilled young people and sharing information with them to take advantage of those markets.