Frequently Asked Questions

The Going Beyond – Partnering for a Youth-Led Future project is a collaboration between Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) and the Mastercard Foundation that aims to scale DOT’s evidence-based, peer-to-peer model and will be executed in four African countries – Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, Zambia, and Tanzania. Over five years, Going Beyond will empower over 300,000 youths, particularly young women, in Africa to lead transformational change.

The Going Beyond project is driven by two primary objectives designed to create a lasting impact across the continent:

• • To strengthen the capacity of 40 youth-led and youth-serving organizations and cultivate a Community of Practice that fosters knowledge sharing, mentorship, and empowerment. By tapping into the creative energy of African youth, the project is catalyzing a shift in the development narrative.
• • These 40 organizations will recruit, train, and deploy 4,000 Youth Leaders (70% women) as digital business facilitators to support and train 300,000 young entrepreneurs (70% women) with digital and entrepreneurship skills, thereby strengthening the national foundation for sustainable economic growth.

The project aims to progressively transfer the delivery and ownership of DOT’s evidence-based, youth-led programming, and equip youth as leaders of the future, drive economic growth, and contribute to sustainable development in their communities. Key outcomes include increased business revenues, improved livelihoods, and enhanced opportunities for youth employment.

Through the Young Africa Works strategy, the Mastercard Foundation aims to enable 30 million young people, particularly young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030. It seeks to establish, operate, and provide programs and services to help African youth access education, understand and utilize technology, and develop the skills necessary to succeed in a diverse and global workforce. As part of the Going Beyond Project, 300,000 young entrepreneurs will be equipped with essential entrepreneurship and 21st-century skills to improve their business outcomes.

The project has a comprehensive Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning Plan, and will measure its success by tracking progress toward project indicators across the project’s three impact pathways: 1) Strengthening of partner organizations' capacity 2) The engagement of young leaders 3) The empowerment of youth with Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs). The project has 22 indicators... include the well-being and resilience of youth, the number of youth in dignified and fulfilling work, changes in organizational capacity development, and increased revenues among enterprises.

This is a 5-year project, which began on June 1, 2023, and will end on May 31, 2028. The first year of implementation started with Tanzania and Malawi... Côte d’Ivoire and Zambia joined in the second year of implementation.

Participants include 3 groups: 1) Partners: Employees and leaders of Youth-Led Organizations and Youth Serving Organizations 2) Youth Leaders: youth (ages 18-35) who are underemployed and unemployed university graduates 3) Youth Peers: youth (18-35) who are necessity-based entrepreneurs. Among the youth participants... 70% will be young women.

DOT will engage with local YLOs and YSOs through trust-based partnerships, providing them with capacity-building support, resources, and training opportunities to deliver high-quality digital livelihoods programming. Eligible YLOs and YSOs will receive comprehensive training, mentorship, access to resources, and networking opportunities to enhance their capacity to deliver impactful programs and support services to local young women and men.

Youth Leaders are the 4,000 young university graduates, typically graduating into unemployment, aged 18-35 who serve as program facilitators, mentors, and changemakers within the project... They will be engaged for 8 months. It is a project policy that 70% of Youth Leaders will be young women.

Youth Leaders will be selected based on criteria such as leadership potential, commitment, and community engagement. They will undergo rigorous training programs covering digital skills, entrepreneurship, leadership, and gender equality. Depending on local circumstances training will be conducted through face-to-face and/or virtual (online) sessions.

Youth Leaders will have significant opportunities for personal and professional development as they mentor their peers, facilitate training sessions, organize community events, and contribute to project planning and implementation. They will also receive ongoing support and professional development opportunities, and a stipend for the valuable work that they do during their engagement.

Yes, Youth Leaders will be provided with a monthly stipend to support their basic needs during their engagement with the local host organization. All agreements and remuneration will comply with local laws and policies.

Youth Peers in the Going Beyond project refer to young Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise (MSME) owners, between the ages of 18-35, who are primarily disadvantaged and necessity-based entrepreneurs in the early stages of business startup. They are the 300,000 individuals to be reached by the project and directly benefit from the training, resources, and support to develop their entrepreneurial skills and grow their businesses.

Youth Peers will participate in training programs, workshops, mentoring sessions, and networking events, and access resources and support to develop their digital and entrepreneurship skills, launch or grow their businesses, and become agents of change in their communities.

Youth Peers will be invited to access financial support through seed funding provided by the project and access to DOT's network (e.g. Impact Makers Advisory Board (IMAB) to seek out additional grants, micro-loans, and linkages to financial institutions and investors. Additionally, they will receive training on financial literacy, business planning, and accessing financial services to support their ventures.

The Impact Makers Advisory Board (IMAB) is a board made up of philanthropists, impact investors, and young social entrepreneurs whose goal is to convene stakeholders to support and uplift youth-led enterprises in Africa to incubate quickly towards impact and scale.

Seed funding will be available through a semi-competitive process that will consider criteria related to the leadership, viability, and impact of the venture.

No, there are no fees associated with participation in Going Beyond programs. However, participants are expected to commit their time and attention to the programming.

The project has adopted inclusive and equitable approaches to ensure the participation and representation of marginalized or vulnerable youth, from the inception and co-designing of the project to its implementation. These groups include young women, persons with disabilities, and those from underserved communities. All outreach efforts will adhere to strict participant guidelines, for example, 70% of participants will be young women.

DOT’s Gender and Safeguarding Team will ensure that the safeguarding of young people is upheld. We focus on 5 core components:

• 1. Prevention: Robust PSEA policy, vetting partner organizations, and conducting regular risk assessments.
• 2. Awareness: Safeguarding training for all staff, partners, and youth leaders with accessible materials.
• 3. Reporting: Providing accessible, relevant, and confidential reporting systems co-designed with youth.
• 4. Responding: Transparent and timely investigations with clear roles for safety at every level.
• 5. Support: Offering survivor-centered support, including safety, medical, legal, and psychosocial aid.

Technology is pervasive in managing the project and in delivering training, facilitating communication, providing access to resources, and enabling digital entrepreneurship. All partners and participants will receive training on digital skills, utilization of online platforms for networking, and the leverage of technology for business growth.

The project will work with local organizations and infrastructure providers to encourage the provision of access to ICT infrastructure, devices, and other relevant training programs for youth participants.

The project will facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing through workshops, forums, social media, online platforms including www.dotrust.org/publications , and community-based events. All participants and stakeholders will have opportunities to exchange ideas, share best practices, and contribute to collective learning and innovation.