UNDP Supports Youth via Timbuktoo & YouthConnekt

By Isabelle DUTHEIL | LAMINE MEDIA Translated into English by Gwenaelle DE LACAN

(Bangui, August 9, 2026 | LNC) In Bangui, the face of international aid is changing. Gone are the days when development partners merely distributed food supplies. On August 5, at the Ledger Plaza Hotel, the Ministry of SMEs and UNDP Central African Republic officially launched a support program for 15 local young entrepreneurs. Backed by a $300,000 budget, this project—spearheaded by the YouthConnekt initiative—demonstrates that the UN is now betting on "Made in CAR" business ventures to stabilize the country and create jobs. Although the Central African government has taken ownership of the initiative, it remains a UNDP project, as the agency provides the funding. The UN agency does not simply write a check; before disbursing grants, it gathered the young entrepreneurs at the Ledger Plaza Hotel in Bangui for intensive training. There, they learned how to create solid business plans and manage corporate accounting to prevent their startups from going bankrupt within a few months. Alongside this, the pan-African Timbuktoo initiative aims to transform the economies of countries like the CAR by funding youth-led technological and agricultural innovation, rather than distributing traditional humanitarian aid. It represents a concrete step toward tackling chronic youth unemployment.

LNC

Date: August 9, 2026

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