By Thoboloko Ntšonyane
MASERU – Lesotho has officially joined the YouthConnekt Africa family, becoming its 33rd member. This milestone was marked by the Prime Minister (PM), the Rt Hon Sam Matekane, who unveiled the Lesotho YouthConnekt Chapter last week during the SEBABATSO Conference.
An initiative conceptualized by the Rwandan President Paul Kagame, YouthConnekt Africa, an initiative first launched by Rwanda in 2012 in concert with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), connects young people across the continent to resources, opportunities, and expertise to help them achieve their entrepreneurial, innovative, and leadership potential.
YouthConnekt provides a platform for youth to engage in dialogue on leadership, share innovative ideas, and pitch their entrepreneurial ventures to potential investors. This programme offers mentorship, investment, and access to global networks for the African youth.
Lesotho’s youth are now set to join thousands from across the continent in upcoming events, including this year’s YouthConnekt Africa Summit to be held in Kigali, Rwanda on November 8th to 10th.
To date, it has impacted about 12 million youth in the continent according to the reports available.
While officiating the inauguration of the YouthConnekt Africa-Lesotho Chapter, the PM appealed to the participants of the SEBABATSO Youth Empowerment Initiative (YEI), who had received investments and whose ideas and ventures had impressed investors, to make the most of these opportunities.
The SEBABATSO initiative, launched by Matekane last year, served as a gateway for Lesotho to join the YouthConnekt Africa network.
Calling the investors to rise to the occasion, the PM said: “Please, take time to look for those whom you can pick among our youth for more assistance, guidance and support.”
Matekane called on stakeholders and partners to unite in support of young entrepreneurs, underscoring the importance of continued investment in their ideas and collaboration to build a brighter future for the youth.
He said the YouthConnekt will ensure that no one is left behind, further committing M200, 000 in support of the YouthConnekt Africa-Lesotho Chapter.
It will be recalled that last year, the UNDP Lesotho sent 12 Basotho youth entrepreneurs and innovators on an all-expenses-paid trip to participate at the YouthConnekt Summit that was hosted in Lusaka, Kenya.
The UNDP’s Resident Representative, Dr Jacqueline Olweya said they only selected youth known to them to participate in YouthConnekt Africa Summit, being one or two at most but after the launch of SEBABATSO YEI last year, more youth went to the Summit.
She said now that Lesotho is a member of YouthConnekt Africa, in commemoration of 200-year celebration, UNDP will be supporting 20 youth in an all-expenses-paid trip to Kigali, Rwanda next month.
For his part, the Minister of Gender, Youth, and Social Development Hon Pitso Lesaoana said the National Youth Bill, which is currently before the parliament, aims to foster innovation amongst young people.
“Let us work together to bring about a meaningful change and measure progress towards our collective goals,” he said.
He challenged the public for each family to at least support youth-led small micro medium enterprises (SMMES) with at least M100 monthly. The Minister said that on average, a family is made of five people in a population of just over two million, wherein about 400 000 families stand to make M40 million a month if each one participates in this initiative.
“Let us come together as a community to uplift and empower our young entrepreneurs and innovators,” the PM urged the public to offer their support.