Across Africa, millions of young people have the talent, drive, and creativity to transform their communities. Given the chance, Africa’s youth are poised to transform the continent’s economy, yet systemic barriers persist.
Through the Social Equity Program (SEP), we’re equipping them with the entrepreneurial skills, resources, and mindset to build resilient futures—for themselves and for the continent. Together, JA and Z Zurich Foundation are working to address these challenges and ensure that youth have the opportunity to thrive.
Student Learning Experiences
Bootcamp Curriculum
A four-day, intensive learning experience helps young people gain work readiness and entrepreneurship skills. Educators teach young people how to start a new business, from market research to business formation and management. Young people gain skills in project management and financial literacy while cultivating positive and healthy mindsets for mental wellbeing.
JA Digital Entrepreneurship Education Platform (JA DEEP)
After the bootcamp, young people register in JA DEEP, an online entrepreneurship curriculum that further strengthens entrepreneurial skills and attitudes. JA DEEP enables participants to gain a deeper understanding of product development, costing, marketing, sales strategy, and financial reporting.
Social Enterprise Competition
As part of their training to become social entrepreneurs and change agents, young people tackle a social issue facing their communities related to sustainable living. Students form teams, develop project plans, and implement the social impact project with support from volunteer mentors. Teams present their social enterprises to panels of judges, who select the most promising enterprises and award seed grants.
Stories of Real Impact
Our alumni are proving that with the right support, young people can lead transformative change. Below, you can meet four of our entrepreneurs and see the ripple effects of their work.
Z Zurich Foundation shares JA’s commitment to equipping vulnerable youth with the skills and resources to reach their full potential. While the foundation partners with several of JA’s regions and locations, its most recent partnership with JA Worldwide focuses on expanding educational opportunities that promote entrepreneurship and work readiness skills in Africa.
As part of our global relationship, Z Zurich Foundation provides challenge grants that inspire local JA teams to design bold, locally relevant initiatives—leveraging both community knowledge and global best practices. These grants encourage innovation, adaptability, and measurable impact, enabling each participating country to address unique challenges while aligning with a shared vision for youth economic resilience.
The Z Zurich Foundation invests in Africa’s long-term economic resilience by:
Supporting mentorship, coaching, and financial inclusion for young entrepreneurs.
Building ecosystems that connect youth with global business leaders and investors.
Expanding opportunities for entrepreneurship education in underserved communities.
Volunteers are an essential part of bringing these initiatives to life. To ensure they are as impactful as possible, JA and the Z Zurich Foundation have created a new volunteering platform that serves both local and international volunteers, equipping them to engage youth effectively and confidently. The platform blends training in youth engagement strategies with the opportunity to develop personal skills—such as openness, empathy, and adeptness in navigating challenging situations—that benefit volunteers well beyond their service. Whether they are Zurich employees contributing as part of the global partnership or community members lending their expertise locally, these volunteers help transfer a wide range of skills and perspectives to young people, amplifying the impact of every challenge grant and every program delivered.
Celebrating SEP Volunteers
SEP not only offers meaningful opportunities for Zurich employees to share their expertise, but also draws on the talents of local volunteers in each participating country. By combining the perspectives of both international and community-based mentors, students are exposed to a diverse range of skills, experiences, and cultural insights. This blend of global and local engagement strengthens the learning experience for youth, ensuring that the program reflects the unique opportunities and challenges of each local context and creating a richer, more relevant path to success.
Sinare Aminata (Burkina Faso), a dedicated volunteer in the Social Equity Program, experienced a profound business transformation through hervolunteering role. Initially hesitant about volunteering, she believedmoney, not experience, was key to advancing her projects.
Through the facilitation of the bootcamps, Sinare gained additionalconfidence, knowledge, and entrepreneurial skills. The knowledgefrom the bootcamps reshaped her perspective, teaching her thatstrong ideas, a clear understanding of the Business Model Canvas, and smart objectives are the foundation of success. She decided to use the knowledge to expand her natural juice productionbusiness—a venture she had been running prior to her SEP experience.
"In the past, I doubted myself and was afraid to fail. Similarly, when I made resolutions in my life, I struggled to achieve them because I lacked the skills and knowledge to succeed. However,thanks to the activities in the bootcamps, I overcame these challenges, and I am very proud to have participated as av olunteer in this program."
Expanding the Success of SEP
Together, JA and Z Zurich Foundation have successfuly:
Scaled the program to reach more youth across Africa
Strengthened access to seed capital for youth-led enterprises
Integrated mental well-being education into all entrepreneurship training
Expanded industry partnerships to open more economic opportunities
The Social Equity Program is a shared investment in opportunity—one that delivers lasting benefits for communities, economies, and companies alike. We invite you to join JA Africa in this exciting journey to expand the reach of this work, whether by supporting the program, championing young entrepreneurs, or engaging your employees in meaningful volunteer opportunities in key countries around the world.
