Opportunity International invests in youth by developing technical training programs that encourage young people to pursue entrepreneurial ventures and equipping them with financial resources and training. With ongoing education, relationships with local business leaders, and start-up capital, young people have the resources they need to build a livelihood, support themselves, and contribute to their families' wellbeing.
The Need
Young people are heavily impacted by poverty and often face barriers such as lack of education, unemployment, discrimination, and inequality. They often have limited access to services, cannot build the appropriate skills to be able to gain decent jobs, and face barriers to participation in social and political life.
- There are 2.4 billion young people (ages 16-35) in the world (Population Pyramid)
- 90% of these people live in the Global South
- 80% of these people live in Africa
- 20% of 15-24 year olds (270 million people) are not engaged in employment, education, or training
Our Programs
Youth Apprenticeship Program, Ghana
In Ghana, the Youth Apprenticeship Program (YAP) pairs young people (ages 15-25) with successful business owners and artisans who mentor the apprentices for three years and provide training in a marketable craft or skill. Participants finish the program with a government-approved certification and comprehensive training in relationship building, business management, life planning, and health, in addition to their industry expertise. Upon graduation, they can apply for an Opportunity loan to start their own business.
At the end of 2023, the program had reached more than 3,000 participants.
Youth Enterprise Challenge, Uganda
The Youth Enterprise Challenge (YEC) is a youth Farmer Support Agent (FSA) model project aimed at enabling young people to find their way out of poverty through meaningful, dignified work, enjoy a stable livelihood, and live a happy, healthy life by challenging assumptions around gender roles and encouraging households to work more closely together.
Between 2024-2028, the project began with onboarding 30 youth Farmer Support Agents at Church of Uganda Ibanda Diocese of Northwest Ankole in Western Uganda with each FSA supporting 150 farmers with capacity building training and gender equity, savings groups governance, financial literacy, business skills, and entrepreneurship. We project reaching 4,500 youth farmers (ages 11-35) with the objective that these farmers will benefit through gaining soft skills and mentorship thereby linking them to Ibanda Northwest Ankole Diocese Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (SACCO) for access to appropriate financial services.
Ibanda Diocese of Northwest Ankole FSAs have continued with youth group formation, youth mobilization, and training in group dynamics, Village Loans and Savings Associations (VSLA) methodology, and financial literacy. FSAs gained skills in family business management, entrepreneurship, business planning, resource mapping, and leadership development. They also developed business plans and enhanced their understanding of resource utilization for enterprise development.
Youth Refugees, Uganda
In 2022 Opportunity International UK received a grant from the Dutch Challenge Fund for Youth Employment (CFYE) to promote sustainable employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for 10,000 youth in Nakivale and Rwamwanja refugee settlements.
Opportunity’s refugee livelihoods program’s aim was for 10,000 refugees (50% women), aged between 18 and 35 years, to achieve sustainable work and self-reliance through the acceleration and scaling of existing and new income generating opportunities. Refugees benefited from training in business, agriculture, and financial literacy, and gained access to financial services to invest in the growth of their farms and businesses.
Opportunity’s refugee livelihoods project made significant progress in creating and improving jobs for young refugees and host community members in Rwamwanja and Nakivale refugee settlements. By December 2025:
- 3,254 jobs were created or improved for young refugees through targeted business development services, with over 65% of those jobs benefiting young female refugees
- 12,500 people benefited from financial literacy and business skills training through Opportunity Bank Uganda, Ltd.
- 1,213 young refugees opened formal savings accounts and started saving
- 488 young refugee entrepreneurs accessed credit to grow their businesses
Technical Vocational Education Training, Uganda
Opportunity offers Street Business School in partnership with Stanbic Bank in their youth incubation program to support training more youth in small- and medium-enterprises and creating market linkages for their products.
The training is designed to serve the unique needs of individuals at the base of the economic pyramid by:
- Enabling them to be agents of their own change
- Igniting their entrepreneurial potential
- Supporting their sustainable business ventures rooted in the local economy, enabling reliable income streams long into the future
The work is built on three key components:
- Selection: Identify “necessary entrepreneurs” who can take advantage of this unique model
- Business content: Practical, hands-on, and immediately relevant
- Supporting and relationship development: Create a foundation of trust between trainers and participants to support them as they claim their brilliance, sense of self, and right to succeed
We piloted this modified training with Makers of the Innovation Village in Bugolobi, Kampala where we registered 34 participants for the three months of training in eight modules of business entrepreneurship. After the three months of training, 24 participants successfully completed and graduated; 11 started their own businesses and 10 prepared business proposals for funding. This revised model showed a high success rate of business entrepreneurs compared to an earlier version.
With all this in place, technical and vocational training and skilling support our vision and mission of transforming lives and eliminating generational poverty in the communities we serve.
Emprendedora Technical School, Nicaragua
Emprendedora ('The Entrepreneurship', in English) is a rural technical high school in Nicaragua. Demonstrating sustainable education for rural communities, the school enables students to get a high school education and receive training in the most promising industries in their area: agriculture and tourism. This school model focuses on business solutions to poverty. The school operates school-run businesses to provide students “hands on” experience and to generate self-sustaining revenue to cover the costs of school operations. Students expect to finish school with a traditional high school diploma and a technical vocational certificate in either sustainable agriculture or tourism.
Impact includes:
- 350+ graduates
- 96% retention rate
- 81% of graduates furthering academic pursuits
- 30% of graduates working (half of whom are both working and studying)