Young Minds Africa

Why Us

Youth make up most of the world’s population and are hence the most vulnerable class in terms of unemployment, financial exclusion, disease and other social ills. We at Young Minds Africa believe that to reduce unemployment, we need to harness the energy of our young people to actively and aggressively participate on issues affecting their development and livelihoods. Our mandate on youth development is guided by 3 focal areas being youth employment, civic engagement and education. All our signature programs have proven to achieve best results.

Empower

We cannot always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future”- Franklin D Roosevelt. We believe in tangible growth that is why we strive to imbibe the eagerness to be the change in their society by encouraging them to grow and maximize their skills and eventually reach their full potential.

Engage

The Voice and the minds of the youth are very crucial to overall effectiveness of service learning programs, and active engagement brings about tremendous impact through program participation for both short and long term career and social growth.

Educate

Through our frameworks we are able to guide young people through practical aspects of skills, mental and personal development helping them become exemplary leaders and innovators. By giving them an environment where they constantly are challenged when paired with qualified instructors, facilitators and mentors, this helps create a flow of continuous adaptive learning.

About Us

Since 2017, Young Minds Africa Trust popularly known as ‘’YMA’’ has a clear set mandate to empower, engage and educate young people to become key players and contributors to the economy. We have curated interventions that are heavily focused on advancing youth entrepreneurship and employability in Botswana through various evidence-based skills development and enhancement techniques. Our interventions are tailored to improve participation of youth in entrepreneurial activity, increase the survival rate of youth-led enterprises and develop university graduates to become more competitive in the job market. YMA offers entrepreneurship training, technical business support, mentorship and on-job experience opportunities.

Our Team

Young Minds Africa is ran by local and international change makers . The team comprises of award winning activists , YALI-RLC Alumni and young people that have a passion for seeing tangible growth among youth . The Young Minds Africa (YMA) team has vast experience in project design , project and youth development , Implementation and design.

Marshal Chimedza

Patron

Kago Timothy Mweemba

Chairman Of The Board

Laone Tiny Desert

Executive Director

Tevin Tlhomamo Sebonego

Finance Director

Othata Phale

Business Development Officer

Boipelo Gaesi

Legal Officer

Mphatso Bryan Guduli

Monitoring and Evaluation

Our Programs

Young Minds Africa intends to improve the welfare of the youth in the country through calculated effort to empower the young minds to take action against unemployment, apathy and unequal access to quality education. Our projects are guided by 3 areas of focus being;

The Business Intervention Event

Is a motivational seminar designed to inspire and empower young aspiring entrepreneurs. The event brings together different scholars, academia, policy makers, development experts and different stakeholders together to have a discussion on current business policies, possible policy amendments to foster for future employment creation as well as give policy direction towards job creation in the country. The event is delivered in the form of educated discussions amongst the delegates. The proceedings of the event are documented to aid our on-going research on unemployment in the country and possible mitigation strategies that can be put in place to address it.

To substantially reduce the proportion of youth not in employment through education and skills sharing.
To mobilise stakeholders and foster for youth inclusivity in the processes of employment creation and influence policy direction as far as employment creation is concerned in Botswana.
To enhance the employability of university graduates by providing information on KSAs (Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes) that make individuals better assets to organisations whether self -owned or owned by someone else.

Program Duration: 3 Days
Previous Sponsors & Partners: University of Botswana, R-Botswana, RabiMix Designs, LMG, Curry Pot, DM Creative Brands
Impact: 1497 beneficiaries

Start Up

The program is an entrepreneurship training program that was initially sponsored by the US Embassy, Gaborone. The program was curated to enhance and develop the beneficiaries’ entrepreneurship skills necessary to run successful start-ups. The 6 months intensive training was followed by 6months mentorship through access to business consultants. The training areas were Business Idea development, pitch, networking, marketing & Sales, funding, financial literacy and business leadership. Start Up Smart was implemented and facilitated by Young Minds in partnership with the University of Botswana- Business Clinic.

To train, mentor and groom young entrepreneurs who will contribute towards near future employment creation.
To decrease the unemployment rate in Botswana through the use of entrepreneurship as an intervention.

Beneficiaries: Youth Entrepreneurs
Program Duration: 3 Days Previous Sponsors & Partners: U.S Embassy Gaborone , University of Botswana - Business Clinic
Program Duration: 6 Months
Impact: 55 beneficiaries

The Mentorship Pathway

Is a dual purpose program that offers entrepreneurship development for young entrepreneurs with at least 2 years in operation while simultaneously offering employability support to unemployed graduates. The program is designed to drive learning and development for both entrepreneurs and graduates. The Mentorship Pathway program is expected to assist entrepreneurs through the confusing stage of transitioning from a start-up enterprise to a more sustainable enterprise. Entrepreneurs receive a technical support team of 4 with skills in Marketing, Accounting, Multi-media and Management to help them through this transition. On the other hand, the graduates will be gaining on-job work experience, community development skills and professional skills development to improve their chances of securing employment. All participants are also receiving mentorship from various industry anchors across the world.

To provide entrepreneurs with mentorship and develop effective administration, accounting and marketing procedures and systems that reduce operating costs and increase lead generation for their businesses over a 12 month period.
To provide graduates with industry relevant mentorship and 2 years of work experience with four different organizations making them competitive job candidates with versatile problem solving skills.

Beneficiaries: Graduates and Entrepreneurs
Program Duration: 3 Days
Previous Sponsors & Partners: New Zealand High Commission Pretoria , Young Africa Botswana , Ministry of Youth Empowerment , Sport and Culture Program Duration: 1 Year
Impact: 138 beneficiaries

The Unemployment Campaign

Is an advocacy campaign to create awareness on the adverse effects of unemployment and destigmatize menial work amongst the youth. The campaign is a call for action against the prominent issue of youth unemployment by actively engaging all stakeholders to collectively work together towards 0% unemployment in Botswana. This project emphasizes the urgency of addressing youth unemployment and is intended to provide policy direction towards creation of sustainable employment opportunities.

To raise awareness on the intensity and the adverse effects of unemployment on the youth.
To facilitate and guide employment creation for young people in the greater Botswana.
To provide policy direction as far as youth employment creation is concerned.
To facilitate stakeholder engagement towards working together as a collective to address unemployment.

Beneficiaries: Unemployed youth, Youth Development Stakeholders
Previous Sponsors & Partners: BIFM(sponsor), Game Changers Charity Organisation , African Union Youth Club, Master Mind Cooperatives , Glen Valley Youth Club
Program Frequency: Continuous
Impact: Created awareness amongst 30000+ people, reached 11 participating countries and was translated into 3 languages

Empower
Engage
Educate