At a Glance
- Standard Chartered Foundation targets 1,500 decent jobs for young women over three years.
- The programme focuses on job placement, not new training, linking graduates directly with employers.
- Kenya and Nigeria selected as pilot markets amid persistent youth and gender employment gaps.
Standard Chartered is expanding its focus on inclusive growth in Africa, teaming up with UNICEF to help young women in Kenya and Nigeria move from training into paid work.
Through its charitable arm, the Standard Chartered Foundation, the bank said the partnership aims to secure 1,500 decent jobs over the next three years.
The move comes as youth unemployment remains a stubborn challenge across the continent, even as access to education and digital skills improves.
In Africa’s biggest economies, a growing number of young people are qualified for work, but far fewer are able to land stable jobs that offer regular income and a path forward.
For young women, the gap is often wider. Many face added barriers linked to household income, caregiving responsibilities and limited access to professional networks.
Policymakers and employers are under increasing pressure to turn skills programmes into real hiring outcomes, rather than short-term training wins.
Standard Chartered’s latest initiative is designed to address that final step — the transition from learning to employment — by working directly with employers and public agencies already active in local labour markets.
Closing the gap between training and work
Under the agreement, the Standard Chartered Foundation will partner with UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited (GenU) platform, which brings together governments, companies and development groups to expand opportunities for young people.
The programme will focus exclusively on women aged 18 to 24 in Kenya and Nigeria.
Participants will be drawn from GenU’s existing pool of graduates who have already completed skills training.
Instead of creating a new curriculum, the project will concentrate on job placement, matching candidates with private-sector employers and supporting their entry into the formal workforce.
UNICEF teams on the ground will work with local job placement specialists, while also coordinating with government programmes to ensure roles reflect current demand in each market.
A demand-led approach
The initiative reflects a wider shift among development partners toward employer-led job creation, with success measured by hiring and retention rather than enrollment numbers.
For Standard Chartered, which has long operated in both countries, the programme also fits its broader effort to support women’s economic participation.
“This partnership is about opening doors to real jobs,” said Tanuj Kapilashrami, a trustee of the Standard Chartered Foundation and the bank’s chief strategy and talent officer.
“Helping young women move into paid work can make a meaningful difference for families and communities.”
Kevin Frey, chief executive of Generation Unlimited at UNICEF, said the partnership builds on work that began in 2022.
Progress will be tracked over three years through job placements and sustained employment.
