Photo gallery (click to enlarge)
October 2022 Ivory Coast
JA Africa, one of the largest and most-impactful youth-serving NGOs in Africa, has partnered with Tomorrow Foundation and The Coca-Cola Foundation to launch programs that will focus on equipping youth in Francophone Africa with the requisite digital literacy, financial literacy, entrepreneurship and work readiness skills to thrive in the new digital economy.
The JA DEEP is an online-based interactive entrepreneurship curriculum created specifically for young African learners. It is the online version of the successful in-person Company Program that our Foundation proudly has sponsored for several years that has ensured delivery of the in-person Company Program in Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana and the Regional COY Competition.
On Tomorrow Foundation’s initiative and desire to enable Francophone Africa youths to become economically self-reliant, the Foundation is partnering again with JA Africa to provide financial and operational support for the implementation of the JA DEEP in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal, DRC, and Gabon which aims to equip more than 10,600 youths over four years with entrepreneurship and financial literacy skills.
The Coca-Cola Foundation decided to also join Tomorrow Foundation and JA Africa in this journey with additional features to the JA DEEP program such as project management workshops, business competitions and seed grants for Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius and Senegal.
“We are very excited to join forces again with JA Africa to inspire entrepreneurship and open new professional horizons to the youth of Francophone Africa at a scale never reached before thanks to digitization. JA shows the way toward innovation and technology that should be at the heart of all African policies.” said Mrs. Gu, founder of Tomorrow Foundation.
Saadia Madsbjerg, President of The Coca-Cola Foundation, said, “Achieving equality and empowerment for youth has broad ripple effects that positively affect communities. Our strategy is to strengthen communities, create a better-shared future, and reach ambitious sustainability goals through prioritization, perseverance, and partnerships. We believe in JA Africa’s ability to bring a positive change with this project in Africa.”
Simi Nwogugu, JA Africa’s CEO said, “We have seen tremendous success stories come out of our Anglophone countries, with JA alumni building unicorn businesses that go on to create thousands of jobs. We are excited to bring this opportunity to French-speaking countries in Africa, most of whom have been left out of participating in the digital economy. We are grateful to the Coca-Cola Foundation and the Tomorrow Foundation for making this possible.”
The launching event took place in Abidjan on October 17, 2022 with representatives of both foundations and JA Africa: our founder Mrs. Gu, Mrs. Simisola Nwogugu, General Director of Junior Achievement Africa, Mrs. Aïssata Tounkara Sangare, Executive Director of Junior Achievement Ivory Coast, and Mr. Rodrigue Bila, Vice-President of the Coca-Cola franchise for Western Africa, Islands and Central Africa. The event also included two prestigious guests invited by Tomorrow Foundation: Ms Madoussou Doumbia, Advisor of the Minister, Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, and Mr Mebeti Dosso, advisor in charge of digital economy, IT reforms and Post from the Prime Minister Office.
During her allocution, our founder explained that the Foundation will continue to develop partnerships and promote innovation in all regions of Africa.
About JA Africa
As one of Africa's largest and most-impactful youth-serving NGOs, JA Africa has a presence in 13 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and collectively reaches over 300,000 youth in more than 3,000 schools each year. JA Africa works in Côte d’Ivoire, Eswatini, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. Visit ja-africa.org for details.
About The Coca-Cola Foundation
The Coca-Cola Foundation is the global philanthropic arm of The Coca-Cola Company. Since its inception in 1984, the Foundation has awarded more than $1 billion in grants to support sustainable community initiatives around the world. For more information about The Coca-Cola Foundation, please go to www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/foundation_coke.html
About Tomorrow Foundation
Tomorrow Foundation supports African development. They harness technology and bring the most useful techniques and technologies affordably to all Africans to improve their living standards and boost the economies of African countries.
Photo gallery (click to enlarge)