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The Good, the Gaps, and the Grind: Africa’s Young Entrepreneurs on their Journey to Success

Egyptian-American writer Suzy Kassem once wrote that “fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.” Luckily for Africa, this continent is not short of brave young people. To see that, one need look no further than the continent’s young entrepreneurs, who are sidestepping the lack of formal employment opportunities in their societies and boldly writing […]

Entrepreneurship is for Everyone: Stories of Resilience from Young African Entrepreneurs

Like millions of young Africans, Malawian Felix Kantande Nkhoma first became an entrepreneur out of necessity. “I started my business based on the experience of poverty,” he says. But as he hustled to build his small gaming center, Felix knew he wanted a life pointed towards something bigger than just surviving. “I am not poor, […]

Change Has a Ripple Effect

Over the next several years, the “Going Beyond – Partnering for a Youth-Led Future” project, a collaboration between Digital Opportunity Trust and the Mastercard Foundation, will equip 300,000 young Africans with the skills and mindset they need to thrive as entrepreneurs in a digital world.  But that kind of generation-altering transformation does not happen overnight. […]

We cannot wait, we will not wait. 

OTTAWA, Canada, April 12, 2024 — When teams from Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) met with hundreds of young people in four African countries last year, again and again we heard a consistent message.  From the rural Malawian teenagers walking two hours each way to and from school, to the aspiring Zambian app developers teaching themselves […]

Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) and the Mastercard Foundation to Support 40 Youth-Led Organizations and 300,000 Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Business Owners

OTTAWA, Canada, July 12, 2023 — Digital Opportunity Trust and the Mastercard Foundation are partnering to support over 300,000 young women and men to gain relevant entrepreneurial skills and foster a network ecosystem of support for young leaders. The “Going Beyond – Partnering for a Youth-Led Future” project aims to scale DOT’s evidence-based, peer-to-peer model […]