Blue Ambition Fund

Wilde Ganzen’s Blue Ambition Fund focuses on decent employment for youth and women through vocational education and job creation in Bangladesh, India, Ethiopia, Uganda and South-Africa. Through this fund, organisations are supported in their efforts to expand access to jobs and entrepreneurial opportunities for young people and women.

The need is urgent: Africa and to a somewhat lesser extend Asia face a staggering youth unemployment challenge, with millions of young people out of work despite possessing the world’s youngest population. While over 10 million young people enter the African labour market annually, the formal economy generates only about 3 million jobs, leaving a vast majority underemployed or entirely out of work and the forecast for South-Asia is just as problematic.

The Blue Ambition Fund believes that everyone should have the opportunity to earn a decent living and shape their own future. A dignified and secure job with a decent income is a necessary condition to achieve this. But what if circumstances make girls drop out of school? What if theoretical knowledge doesn’t prepare young people for the jobs that are available? What if there are just not enough jobs?

Blue Ambition Fund wants to be part of the movement that invests in local organisations and solutions, we help create pathways to sustainable employment and economic independence. This is done through the following two strategies.

Strategy 1: Skilling

Blue Ambition Fund supports partner organisations that offer short-term training programmes and vocational courses that equip participants with practical skills and soft skills aligned with labour market demand. This enables them to improve their chances of earning a decent income and building an independent future. Where possible, organisations should partner with the private sector to match young people with existing and secure job opportunities. In contexts with a lack of job opportunities, a focus on micro-entrepreneurship is also a way to improve the lives of young people and women.

Strategy 2: Scaling

The second strategy of the Blue Ambition Fund is to partner with business support organisations to help small and growing business to grow and generate employment.

Small and Medium Enterprises are the backbone of the African and Asian economy, providing 80% of employment. If we can offer the right kind of support, these businesses can flourish, more jobs are created and young people and women find decent employment and financial independence. In the long term, this ensures that local economies can grow sustainably and communities are strengthened.

The Blue Ambition Fund operates based on four core intervention strategies:

1. Direct funding of selected partners to provide skilling and match youth with job opportunities or entrepreneurship development
2. Direct funding of selected partners to provide business support to small and growing businesses to grow their revenue, expand their business, increase their labour demand and create jobs.
3. Capacity building for partners, with a focus on professionalization and sustainability.
4. Lobbying and advocacy to promote the integration of good practices into government policies and business practices.

The Blue Ambition Fund builds on the legacy of the GSRD Foundation, which supported projects in Bangladesh, India, and Vietnam for fifteen years. Together with regional partners, Wilde Ganzen is expanding this work to reach more people across Asia and Africa.