A youth-focused savings and credit cooperative (SACCO), supported by a $60 million USAID grant under the Kefeta Integrated Youth Activity, has distributed nearly 50 million birr in loans.
The initiative, facilitated by Amref Health Africa, began two years ago in Hawassa, Sidama Regional State, with 55 members. It has since expanded to 7,810 members and accumulated 60 million birr in savings.
The Kefeta National Youth Saving and Credit Cooperatives was officially launched last week at the Skylight Hotel by Minister of Women & Social Affairs Ergoge Tesfaye (PhD), who hinted at possible prospects of evolving into a bank. She lauded the psychosocial support provided by Amref as fundamentally aligned with the Ministry’s efforts at curtailing damages arising from prevalent drug use in Ethiopia’s youth.
“It’s inclusivity is remarkable,” Ergoge remarked.
In 2022, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) introduced the $60 million (3.1 billion birr) program aimed at empowering two million vulnerable youth across Ethiopia. Over a five-year period, the USAID Kefeta initiative—which means “to elevate” in Amharic—seeks to assist youth in 18 cities to secure meaningful employment and amplify their voices in Ethiopia’s civic discourse through a combination of social, civic, and economic development projects. It also aims to enhance youth access to essential services such as banking, family planning, and healthcare.
Kefeta’s youth-focused SACCO has made significant headway in expanding inclusivity, with females accounting for 38% of its members and disabled youth at 6%.
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