Youth unemployment in Africa remains a pressing challenge, requiring coordinated action among governments, the private sector, and nonprofit organisations. Within this ecosystem, the nonprofit sector has played an important role in shaping Africa’s social and economic development, functioning not only as a service provider but also as an employer and facilitator of skills development. As youth unemployment continues to rise, nonprofit organisations have increasingly emerged as critical actors in expanding access to dignified and fulfilling work and opportunities for young people. Despite growing recognition of this role, empirical evidence on the economic contribution of nonprofit organisations remains limited. Data on the scale, quantity, and quality of youth employment generated by the sector are scarce, both in Africa and globally. As a result, the nonprofit sector’s contribution to reducing youth unemployment is often insufficiently reflected in labour market analysis and policy frameworks.
The Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment (CAPSI) at Wits Business School is addressing this gap through a five-year, multi-country research project that examines the contribution of the nonprofit sector to creating dignified and fulfilling work for young people in Africa. The youth project is being implemented in collaboration with research institutions and networks across 17 African countries and aligns with the Mastercard Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy. Particular attention is given to young people experiencing different forms of marginality, including young women, rural youth, ex-convicts, refugees, and persons with disabilities.
Through comparative research, capacity building, and youth engagement, the project aims to reposition the nonprofit sector as a key player in promoting dignified and fulfilling work and opportunities for Africa’s youth across Burkina Faso, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Project Highlights, Progress and Milestones in 2025
- Conducting research in 17 countries and publishing its outcomes
In 2025, the project made significant progress in advancing its core research agenda across all 17 participating countries, marking a transition from preparatory work to intensive data generation, analysis, and dissemination. As a foundation for the empirical phase, comprehensive literature reviews were completed as scoping studies in all 17 countries. These reviews mapped existing knowledge and highlighted critical gaps in understanding the economic contribution of the nonprofit sector to dignified and fulfilling work. Country literature review reports are currently at different stages of publication. To date, 12 country reports have been published, covering Ghana, Senegal, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Zambia. Reports for Rwanda, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Egypt, and Morocco, alongside the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning framework and the Project Implementation Toolkit, are undergoing final processes in publication.
At the continental level, a literature synthesis review report was produced and officially launched on 6 May 2025, providing a comparative overview of nonprofit sector contributions to youth employment across diverse African contexts. Dissemination of country findings was further strengthened through a webinar series. The first webinar, held on 14 November 2025, launched reports from Ghana, Uganda, Mozambique, and Zambia, while a second webinar on 3 December 2025 disseminated findings from Nigeria, Senegal, and Ethiopia. Drafting of the book monograph using findings from the country literature reviews, led by a Special Editor, is underway and scheduled for completion by next year. In addition, a policy brief template has been developed and shared with country partners to guide the translation of research findings into policy-relevant outputs.
The quantitative phase of the study also advanced substantially in 2025. A standardised quantitative report and analysis template was developed to ensure consistency across countries. Field visits, stakeholder convenings, and enumerator training were conducted to support high-quality data collection. Quantitative data collection has been completed in 14 countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, Côte d’Ivoire, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Burkina Faso. Several countries have progressed further, completing data cleaning, preliminary analysis, and draft report writing, notably Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Senegal. Egypt and Morocco are preparing to commence fieldwork.
To complement the survey data, a qualitative methodology workshop was held on 6 November 2025 to finalise interview instruments and prepare country teams for in-depth qualitative data collection. This mixed-methods approach strengthens the project’s ability to capture both the scale and lived experiences of youth employment within the nonprofit sector.
- Education and Training
Education and training remained a central pillar of the project’s implementation in 2025, reflecting the commitment of CAPSI to strengthening nonprofit sector scholarship and building a new generation of African researchers. As part of this intervention, the project set out to train 20 PhD Fellows whose research aligns with the project’s focus on youth employment and dignified and fulfilling work in the nonprofit sector.
By the end of 2025, 19 PhD Fellows had been recruited from across the 16 countries of the project, comprising 14 young women and 5 young men. Recruitment efforts are ongoing to identify a Fellow from Egypt, ensuring full regional representation within the cohort. The strong participation of women reflects the project’s commitment to gender equity in academic training and knowledge production.
Throughout the year, Fellows received structured financial, academic, and mentorship support to enable steady progress in their doctoral journeys. This included fellowship disbursements, access to writing retreats, research seminars, conferences, and work-in-progress forums that strengthened their analytical, methodological, and academic writing skills. In parallel, plans were advanced to expand the cohort. A call to recruit five additional PhD Fellows was advertised, with a deadline of 15 December 2025, emphasising the project’s continued investment in research capacity building. Collectively, these efforts ensure that doctoral research contributes directly to the project’s evidence base while also strengthening long-term scholarly capacity on nonprofit sector research across Africa.
- Communication and Dissemination
Communication and dissemination remained a core intervention of the project in 2025, aimed at ensuring that research findings reach diverse audiences in accessible, engaging, and youth-centred formats. Throughout the year, CAPSI leveraged multiple platforms, including newsletters, webinars, documentary storytelling, opinion editorials, and social media reels, to share emerging insights and sustain engagement with policymakers, practitioners, researchers, and young people across the continent.
A major highlight of the year was the launch of a continental youth competition designed to translate research findings into formats that resonate with young audiences. The call for entries was widely promoted through media engagements, with the CAPSI Directors, Research Leads, and Communications Officer participating in interviews to amplify its reach and purpose. The response was overwhelming, with 186 applications received from across Africa, reflecting strong interest and creative energy among young people. Submissions were received from North Africa (4), East Africa (62), West Africa (52), and Southern Africa (68).
Following a rigorous selection process, 12 teams were shortlisted for interviews, with three teams selected per region by a panel of 16 judges. The quality and diversity of submissions underscored the depth of creative leadership across the continent, with entries spanning video documentaries, podcasts, illustration, mixed media, poetry, digital storytelling, augmented and virtual reality, and innovative approaches to research translation. Winning teams have been selected and will be formally onboarded next year.
Looking ahead, the selected youth teams will work closely with the CAPSI team to further develop their projects, translating research findings into compelling outputs that speak directly to young people and spark dialogue, learning, and action. Through this approach, the project is not only disseminating evidence but also empowering youth as active knowledge translators and agents of change.
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
To ensure the impact of the project reaches its full potential, we have put in place a robust Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework to track and assess interventions across 17 African countries. This framework was carefully developed through a collaboration between CLEAR-AA and CAPSI, ensuring it is both rigorous and tailored to the realities on the ground.
As part of our commitment to accountability and learning, we are preparing for a midterm evaluation to measure progress and identify areas for improvement. A call for the midterm evaluation has already been issued, and the process to appoint an independent consultant is underway. The midterm evaluation is scheduled to take place before the end of the first quarter next year, marking an important milestone in the project’s journey.
Looking Forward to 2026: Advancing the Youth Project
As 2025 draws to a close, several lessons have emerged that will guide the journey ahead. Careful preparation and thoughtful design have proven essential, with rigorous literature mapping and structured data collection providing a foundation for credible and relevant evidence. Capacity building has been transformative, as mentoring young scholars, particularly women, has strengthened research and nurtured a new generation of African leaders in the nonprofit sector. Engagement has also shown its power, with webinars, newsletters, and youth-led initiatives demonstrating that research achieves its fullest impact when it resonates with those it seeks to serve.
Looking ahead to 2026, the project moves into a critical phase. Qualitative research and validation workshops will deepen understanding and ground findings in lived realities. Creative dissemination will expand as youth-led initiatives translate evidence into compelling narratives that spark dialogue and inform practice and policy. The midterm MEL review will offer an opportunity to reflect, recalibrate, and strengthen the approach.
The coming year promises a dynamic convergence of knowledge, engagement, and practical application as the project moves from insight to action, ensuring that research informs policy, empowers African youth, and contributes meaningfully to the development of the nonprofit sector.
