On January 16, 2019, the call for proposals for large skills development investment projects to be submitted by domestic training entities in partnership with companies in Cameroon under the SIFA project was launched in Yaoundé under the distinguished patronage of HE the Minister of Employment and Vocational Training, Mr. Issa Tchiroma Bakary, in the presence of the representative of HE the Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Hauke Brankamp, the Representative of the African Union Development Agency / New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA/NEPAD), Mrs. Fati N’Zi-Hassane, and the Representative of the German Development Bank KfW, Dr. Robert Mba. This call for proposals is for grants under Funding Window 1 of the Skills Initiative For Africa (SIFA) Financing Facility. Successful projects under this Window will receive a grant of up to EUR 3 million. Grantees will be required to make a counterpart contribution of at least 10% of the total project cost.
Skills Initiative for Africa – SIFA
The Skills Initiative for Africa (SIFA) is an initiative of the African Union Commission (AUC) supported by the German Government to strengthen occupational prospects of young people, women and vulnerable groups in Africa. SIFA responds in part to the African Union’s Agenda 2063 that calls for a paradigm shift towards transformative education and training systems to meet the knowledge, competencies, skills, research, innovation and creativity required to nurture the future. To unleash the potential of skills development and technical and vocational education and training (TVET), the African Union has developed a “Continental TVET Strategy” that provides a comprehensive framework for skills development and youth employment.
Under the SIFA project, a Financing Facility for Skills Development has been established. The Facility is implemented by AUDA/NEPAD, with financing from Germany through KfW. The Financing Facility is designed to coherently address the common challenges of skills development in Africa by upscaling and/or disseminating local best practices and supporting innovative and sustainable approaches and thereby foster the employment and entrepreneurship of youth, women and vulnerable groups. As of January 2019, the participating (pilot) countries under the SIFA Financing Facility are Cameroon, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Togo and Tunisia.
