UNDP supports young people through: Timbuktoo & YouthConnekt

By Isabeelle DUTHEIL | LAMINE MEDIA

(Bangui, 9 August 2026 | LNC) In Bangui, international aid is taking on a new form. Gone are the days when development partners merely distributed food aid. On 5 August, at the Ledger Plaza Hotel, the Ministry of SMEs and UNDP Central African Republic officially launched a support programme for 15 local young entrepreneurs. With a budget of $300,000, this project, led by the YouthConnekt initiative, demonstrates that the UN is now backing ‘Made in CAR’ businesses to stabilise the country and create jobs. Although the Central African government has taken ownership of the initiative, it remains a UNDP project, as the UNDP is the funding body. The UN agency does not simply write a cheque. Before disbursing the grants, it brought the young people together at the Ledger Plaza Hotel in Bangui for an intensive training course. There, they learnt how to draw up a sound business plan and manage a company’s accounts to prevent their start-ups from going bankrupt within a few months. Alongside this, the pan-African Timbuktoo initiative aims to transform the economies of countries such as the CAR by funding technological and agricultural innovation led by young people, rather than distributing traditional humanitarian aid. This represents a concrete step towards tackling chronic youth unemployment.

LNC

Date: 9 August 2026

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