Develop
Leadership, enterprise, financial and civic skills, with support for wellbeing.
TodayIs this you?
If any of these describe you, there’s a place for you here.
Never went to school, or never finished? Not working, not studying, or don’t know what’s next? This is where you can start.
You’ve finished school or university, but the work you prepared for isn’t there, and nobody has shown you another way in.
You have an idea for a business or a project, but no mentor, no network and no way to reach the people who fund ideas like yours.
You already lead among your peers, yet you’re rarely asked for your view when decisions about young people are made.
You were given a chance yourself, and now you want to open the door for the young people coming after you.
The challenge
Africa is young. Too many of its young people are locked out.
60%
of Africans are under 25, the youngest population of any continent
3 million
formal jobs created each year, for the 10 to 12 million young Africans entering the job market
1 in 5
young people in sub-Saharan Africa, and almost 1 in 3 in North Africa, are not in work, education or training
Sources: UN Economic Commission for Africa; African Development Bank; ILO, Global Employment Trends for Youth 2026.
What we do
We’re the bridge between what young people are capable of and what they’re able to reach.
Open
Pathways into jobs, placements and capital, with employers, investors and institutions.
TodayConnect
Mentors, peers and an alumni network that grows stronger with every cohort.
TomorrowAmplify
Young people’s evidence and ideas carried into policy and public life.
TomorrowToday means skills, income and opportunity that change a young person’s life now.
Tomorrow means networks and a collective voice whose value grows with every cohort.
Together, because capability without opportunity breeds frustration, and opportunity without voice leaves unfair systems untouched.
How it works
One pathway, not a menu of programmes.
The Accelerator Pathway takes young people from a first step to leading others, and grows through the people it develops.
-
Engage
Free, open entry points for any young person, anywhere.
Open to all -
Build
Intensive skills and enterprise programmes.
By application -
Lead
A selective fellowship in leadership and policy.
Selective -
Multiply
Alumni become mentors, trainers, chapter leaders and partners.
Give back
Find your place
Start where you are. Move on when you’re ready.
There’s more than one way to be part of Youth Accelerator, and none of them is a ladder.
Questions
Honest answers before you start.
Who can join?
Young people across Africa, with our reach growing country by country. We give particular priority to young women, rural and underprivileged youth, young people with disabilities, those working outside the formal economy, and those without a degree or any formal education.
Do I need a degree or previous experience?
No. Our entry points are open to young people at every level of education, including those who have never been to school.
How are participants chosen?
Engage is open to everyone. For Build and Lead, we select through an application process with targets that make sure young women, rural youth, young people with disabilities and those without formal education are fairly represented.
How do you account for the money you receive?
We publish our finances and results openly, and reflect on what is and isn’t working in an annual learning review that we share with our partners.