Grace Ashiru
JA (Junior Achievement) Africa  and the Z Zurich Foundation will equip 20,000 young people in Burkina Faso, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Togo with the mindset, skillset, confidence, and opportunities to build livelihoods, solve local problems, and build more thriving, peaceful communities. Announced on the International Day of Peace, Génération Équitable, the Francophone Africa phase of the JA Social Equity Program, positions youth economic inclusion as a practical pathway to peace by preparing participants to become entrepreneurs, employees, and changemakers.
The three-year initiative will directly impact 20,000 young people through entrepreneurship education, financial literacy, digital skills, and work-readiness training. Of these participants, 5,000 are expected to achieve transformative economic outcomes; securing jobs, launching businesses, or significantly increasing their income, while the remaining 15,000 are expected to record measurable gains in skills and confidence. The benefits are projected to extend indirectly to a further 100,000 household and community members, bringing the initiative’s total projected impact to 120,000 lives by 2029:
- Burkina Faso: 51,000 total lives impacted
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: 45,000 total lives impacted
- Togo: 24,000 total lives impacted
Génération Équitable builds on the first phase of the JA Social Equity Program, launched by JA Africa and the Z Zurich Foundation in 2022. Between 2023 and 2025, the first phase directly reached approximately 175,000 young people and contributed to broader positive impact for approximately 612,000 lives across nine African countries. It demonstrated how hands-on learning, mentoring, and youth-led social enterprise can expand economic participation, advance inclusion, and help communities address shared challenges. It also surfaced barriers distinct to Francophone contexts, including thinner formal labour markets, uneven access to demand-driven training, and language-specific learning gaps, which the new phase addresses through a localized, context-responsive model.
Delivery pairs in-person leadership bootcamps with JA Digital Entrepreneurship Education Program (JA DEEP), JA Africa’s eight-module, self-paced digital entrepreneurship curriculum. Participants develop social-impact projects and practical responses to challenges in their own communities, supported by measures such as on-site childcare for young mothers and assistive learning materials for young people with disabilities. This inclusive approach ensures that those most often excluded can participate in shaping more equitable and cohesive communities. JA Africa works through local delivery partners, including Gestion d’Entreprise Formation et Études (GEFED) alongside JA Burkina Faso; KADEA/Fondation Kinshasa Digital in the DRC; and YMCA Togo.
Beyond funding, the Z Zurich Foundation contributes skills-based volunteering and capacity-building support from Zurich Insurance Group employees. The partnership also aims for longer-term systems change, working with national Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) boards and ministries of youth and education in all three countries. Engagement with institutions such as ANADEC in the DRC is intended to support formal curriculum adoption and build local ecosystems that can sustain opportunity, inclusion, and community resilience beyond the initiative’s lifecycle. Longer term, JA Africa aims to mobilize further resources alongside multilateral and development finance partners.
“Peace is strengthened when young people can see a future for themselves and have the tools to contribute to their communities,” said Simi Nwogugu, President & CEO, JA Africa. “Through GĂ©nĂ©ration Équitable, we are helping young people in Burkina Faso, the DRC, and Togo turn ambition into livelihoods and local challenges into solutions. By widening access to opportunity, we are investing in a more inclusive, resilient, and peaceful Francophone Africa.”
“Social equity is essential to building communities in which people can thrive together,” said Adriana Poglia, Head of Enabling Social Equity, Z Zurich Foundation. “This collaboration brings together funding, skills-based volunteering, and local collaboration to help young people access sustainable livelihoods, participate in their communities, and become agents of positive change across Burkina Faso, the DRC, and Togo.”
Over the past five years alone, JA Africa has delivered more than five million learning experiences across the continent. By connecting economic opportunity with youth leadership and community problem-solving, the Social Equity Program shows how practical investments in young people can support more inclusive, resilient communities. JA Africa is inviting additional funding partners to join GĂ©nĂ©ration Équitable, with a goal to strengthen the initiative’s long-term sustainability.
