According to Zambia’s Central Statistics Office (CSO), Zambia has a median age of 16.8, making Zambia one of the worlds youngest countries. While this large pool of energy could be made productive, the reality is that unemployment remains at 17.9% and of those that are employed, over 88% considered to be informal workers ( CSO, 2017 labor force survey report)
This is exactly why in 2017, I co-founded Musanga, to create economic opportunities and improve mobility in Africa. Since we started, we’ve increased incomes of some of our most active partners by 100%, helping them access microloans, open bank accounts and have an increased sense of security because they can rely on Musanga to find customers.
Many of my initial assumptions about reducing unemployment and underemployment have been challenged but my belief that Zambians, given the opportunities, have the will to change their own lives is stronger now than it has ever been. For us at Musanga, creating economic opportunities means that anyone whose willing to honestly work, should be given an opportunity to earn.