ADEY Program
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) and the
Mastercard Foundation Partner to Support over 600,000 Young People to
Engage in Inclusive and Dignified Work Opportunities in Agriculture -
Mastercard Foundation
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) and the Mastercard Foundation have partnered
to launch the Agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia (ADEY) program. This
initiative aims to create over 600,000 dignified and inclusive work opportunities for young people in the
agriculture sector, with a strong focus on women's participation (80%). The program will address youth
unemployment by removing systemic barriers and increasing youth engagement in various agricultural
activities, including input and output marketing, value addition, agro-processing, livestock, irrigation,
and mechanization services.
Agriculture-focused Dignified Employment
for Youth in Ethiopia (ADEY)
[Link]
employment-for-youth-in-ethiopia-adey/
Status : active
Period : August 2023 - August 2028
Countries : Ethiopia
Focus Areas : Agriculture
MSC In Partnership With Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATI)
The Agricultural Transformation Agency (ATI) is at the forefront of agricultural innovation in
Ethiopia. Our partnership leverages their expertise to create dignified employment opportunities
for young people in the evolving agricultural sector. For more information: [Link]
Target Impact : 611,343 Youth in Work.
Impact to Date
38,472 Young people engaged (78% young women)
17,320 Young people accessed work opportunities (76% young women)
3,477 MSMEs supported
New and existing business /agribusiness, agro processing sector;
FtETW: Farmer’s entrepreneurship
Partnership Focus
Pilot job creation for young people in marginalized areas.
Enable young people to participate in agriculture and eco-tourism.
Support local service providers’ capacity.
Provide financial inclusion and skills training.
Facilitate market linkages and enterprise development.
Establish cooperatives and enterprises.
The Agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia (ADEY) Program is
designed to address the challenges of youth unemployment and increase their participation in the
labor market, particularly in the agriculture sector. The ADEY program is implemented, in
partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, in eight regional states including Amhara, Central
Ethiopia, Oromia, Southwest Ethiopia, Sidama, Somali, South Ethiopia, and Tigray, and in
collaboration with six implementing partners (IPs). The IPs include Ethiopian Catholic Church
Social Development Commission (ECC-SDC), Ethiopia Somali Development Association
(EDSA), HUNDEE-Oromo Grassroots Development Initiative, Oromo Development
Association (ODA), Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara-Ethiopia
(ORDA-Ethiopia), and Relief Society of Tigray (REST).
The program aims to create 611,000 dignified jobs for youths (80% women) through
interventions including mindset change, agribusiness and enterprise development in crops and
livestock, input production and supply, digital agriculture and financial services, market linkage
and creating enabling policy environment for youth employment in the sector. The participants
also include youths with disabilities (4%) and internally displaced youths (6%). In terms of
geographic targeting, the participants are categorized into rural (70%), peri-urban (20%) and
urban (10%). The program will establish and strengthen a total of 15,000 youth enterprises (60%
new and 40% existing) in agribusiness activities.
The program interventions are designed to enhance youth engagement in various agribusiness
activities, and their individual and enterprise capacity development that will lead to dignified
jobs through wage and self-employment pathways.
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation
Institute (ATI) and the Mastercard
Foundation Partner to Support over 600,000
Young People to Engage in Inclusive and
Dignified Work Opportunities in Agriculture
- Mastercard Foundation
Date 24 October 2023
Location Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation (ATI) and the Mastercard Foundation have
announced the Agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia (“ADEY”)
Program to support over 600,000 young people, 80 percent of whom will be young women, to
engage in inclusive and dignified work opportunities in the agriculture sector.
ADEY will enable new and sustained work opportunities by engaging young people in
agricultural inputs and outputs marketing, value addition and agro-processing, livestock,
irrigation and mechanization services, availing affordable access to finance, digital agriculture,
and ensuring policy improvements.
The program also aims to address youth unemployment by removing systemic barriers that
hinder young people from accessing dignified and fulfilling work, and to increase the
participation of young people in the agriculture labour market. ADEY aims to create work
opportunities for 611,343 young people: 427,940 in self-employment, and 183,403 in wage
employment.
Additionally, ADEY builds on the success of ATI’s flagship initiative, the Agricultural
Commercialization Clusters (ACC) program, which seeks to promote commercialization where
smallholder farmers are organized in geographically clustered high-potential areas through
market-driven and integrated value chain development of selected commodities.
ADEY also aims to strengthen access to improved agricultural technologies, markets, and
finance; improve the competitiveness of youth-owned micro, small, and medium enterprises
(MSMEs) through capacity-building; enhance the skills and mindsets of young women and men
through the provision of training and business development services; and create an enabling
environment for young people to access and create work opportunities.
ADEY will be led by ATI and implemented in partnership with a consortium of organizations,
including the Organization for Rehabilitation and Development in Amhara (ORDA) Ethiopia, the
Oromia Development Association (ODA), HUNDEE, South Ethiopia Peoples’ Development
Association (SEPDA), Somali Development Association, and Purpose Black Ethiopia.
Additional partners from civil society and the private sector will also be identified to reach
young people at the grassroots level.
ATI will also leverage its experience in establishing and supporting MSMEs and designing and
disseminating digital technologies in collaboration with various partners along the value chain.
In addition, ATI will make use of its strategic regional presence across the country, through the
former Southern Nations and Nationalities People (SNNP), Oromia, and Amhara regions, to
seamlessly deliver solutions that reach beneficiaries all the way to the kebele levels. ADEY will
also invest $74.5 million in grants to enhance employment opportunities for young people.
ADEY targets mainly women and seeks to impact their lives by facilitating job opportunities that
lead to an improved quality of life in which they will have better decision-making power and
autonomy. This will be achieved through:
Choosing and working with sectors that present a significantly higher potential for young
women,
Outlining specific strategies and methodologies aimed at enhancing women’s capacities
and abilities to participate in these sectors, and
Working with market system actors to identify and work on key barriers that prevent
young women from participating in these value chains.
“ADEY will have an impact on young women’s lives beyond supporting employment
opportunities. It will provide them with more agency to take charge of their lives. The young
women targeted in this program will be engaged in various socioeconomic issues both within and
outside of their community, and they will be prepared to act as influencers for women’s
empowerment within their respective socioeconomic circles,” said Dr Mandefro Nigussie, CEO
of the ATI.
“ADEY is a flagship partnership with ATI and partners that aims to address youth
unemployment through the removal of systemic barriers that hinder young people from accessing
dignified work in agriculture. It will enable young people to acquire skills, technology, and tools
to find employment either through self or wage employment in agriculture. We believe ADEY
will create a path for a new generation of young farmers and women-led agi-businesses across
several value chains. Anchored at centre of the Foundation’s Young Africa Works strategy in
Ethiopia, ADEY will contribute to our vision of creating a country success story by enabling
young people to access dignified and fulfilling work,” said Samuel Yalew Adela, Mastercard
Foundation Country Director for Ethiopia.
About the ATI
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) is a strategy and delivery-oriented
government institute created to help accelerate the growth and transformation of Ethiopia’s
agriculture sector which is a key contributor to the country’s GDP, exports, and workforce. The
ATI’s work is centered on improving the livelihoods of smallholder farmers (SHFs) across the
country, for improved income, inclusiveness, resilience, and sustainability. The ATI has
reached 3.7 million smallholder farmers, created $1.7 million value for the Ethiopian GDP,
delivered over 250 strategic studies, lifted 286,000 people out of poverty and implemented over
48 innovative projects.
The ATI has mainstreamed youth employment, gender equality, climate-smart, and nutrition-
sensitive agriculture in all its programs and projects with the primary objectives of increased
access to sustainable and inclusive job opportunities for youth, inclusivity, and the sustainable
use of natural resources while building resilience capacities to shocks at all levels.
About the Mastercard Foundation : The Mastercard Foundation is a
registered Canadian charity and one of the largest foundations in the world. It works with
visionary organizations to advance education and financial inclusion to enable young people in
Africa and Indigenous youth in Canada to access dignified and fulfilling work. Its Young Africa
Works strategy aims to enable 30 million young people to access dignified and fulfilling work by
2030, while its EleV strategy will support 100,000 Indigenous youth in Canada to complete their
education and transition to meaningful work aligned with their traditions, values, and aspirations.
Established in 2006 through the generosity of Mastercard when it became a public company, the
Foundation is an independent organization. Its policies, operations, and program decisions are
determined by its Board of Directors and Leadership team.
Contact:
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI)
Yimer Dawod, Senior Communication Officer
[Link]@[Link]
Mastercard Foundation
Simret Yasabu, Lead, Program Communications
syasabu@[Link]
Agriculture ; Education and Transitions
Agriculture-Focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia Program
Familiarization Regional Workshop Has Been Held. Amhar region, Bahir Drae,
Regional Launching and socialization workshop
About eight percent of citizens in Ethiopia are unemployed. Especially, many young people in
the middle age did not get job opportunities. In order to reduce the problem, a youth job creation
program focused on agriculture will be implemented in the Amhara region for the next 5 years
through ORDA Ethiopia and the Agricultural Transformation Institute with financial support
from MasterCard Foundation.
Speaking at the opening of the program in Bahir Dar, the Head of Amahara Region’s
Agricultural Bureau, Dr. Diress Sahlu said that the program will create many jobs for
unemployed people in the region. Ato Tsehaye Asmare, deputy executive director of ORDA
Ethiopia, while presenting his opinion, said that since the program will improve the lives of
many unemployed youths, attention should be given to access to financial services for youths
engaged in agriculture.
The program works with the objective of creating employment opportunities for the youth by
providing material and capacity building support. When ORDA Ethiopia implements the
program in 3 administration zones (Awi zone, North Gojjam Zone & Central Gondar Zones), it
will create various job opportunities for 46,111 young people; 80 percent of them will be
women.
ATI, Mastercard Foundation Partner to Avail
Dignified Jobs to over 600 Thousand Youths
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) and the Master Card
Foundation partnered to Support over 600,000 Young people to Engage in Inclusive and
Dignified Work Opportunities in Agriculture. ATI and Mastercard Foundation have
announced the agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia
(“ADEY”) Program to support over 600,000 young people to engage in inclusive and
dignified work opportunities in the agriculture sector.
Young women to be engaged constitute 80 percent of the 600,000 youths, ATI said in a
statement it sent to EBC News. ADEY will enable new and sustained work opportunities
by engaging young people in agricultural inputs and outputs marketing, value addition,
agro-processing, livestock, irrigation and mechanization services, availing affordable
access to finance, digital agriculture, and ensuring policy improvements. The program
also “aims to address youth unemployment by removing systemic barriers that hinder
young people from accessing dignified and fulfilling work, and to increase the
participation of young people in the agriculture labour market,” ATI noted.
While ADEY will be led by ATI, its implementation will be in carried out in different
regions of the country in partnership with a consortium of organizations.
ADEY Program Empowers Young Women
with Disabilities Through Business Skills
Training
By Ruhama February 20, 2025
The Agriculture-Focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia (ADEY) Program hosted
a transformative business skills training for 100 young women with disabilities from December 7
to 8, 2024, in Axum town, Tigray region. This initiative, part of ADEY’s inclusive mission,
focuses on equipping participants with the knowledge, confidence, and practical tools needed to
overcome systemic barriers and pursue meaningful livelihoods. It also aligns with Ethiopia’s
broader goals of inclusion and sustainable development.
With its overarching mission to create equitable employment opportunities, particularly for
young women and persons with disabilities in the agricultural sector, the ADEY Program has set
an ambitious target of reaching 611,343 youth. The training in Axum demonstrated ADEY’s
commitment to fostering dignity, self-reliance, and inclusivity by addressing the unique needs of
participants. Special accommodations were made for individuals with hearing, visual, and
physical impairments, ensuring that all attendees could actively engage and benefit from the
sessions. The training was facilitated by Light for the World (LFTW), an organization known for
its expertise in disability inclusion.
The training aimed to achieve three primary objectives: to equip participants with practical
competencies such as effective communication, decision-making, and workplace ethics; provide
foundational business concepts to help participants develop strong entrepreneurial skills; and
inspire attendees to recognize their potential and the opportunities available to them, despite
societal and structural barriers.
Participants expressed feeling empowered and inspired, sharing how the training boosted their
confidence and belief in their ability to succeed. They particularly appreciated the real-life
examples shared by facilitators, which helped them envision actionable pathways to self-
employment.
While the training was a significant step toward inclusion, it also revealed areas for improvement
to ensure sustained impact. The first one was related to childcare services. Many participants,
particularly mothers, struggled to fully engage due to caregiving responsibilities. Providing
accessible childcare services is crucial for future training sessions. In addition, venue
accessibility has been observed as a key challenge. Physical accessibility remains a challenge.
Future programs must prioritize wheelchair-friendly facilities and adaptive seating arrangements
to accommodate all participants. Third, the inclusion of sign language interpreters and other
inclusive communication strategies is essential to ensure no participant is left behind. Finally,
despite gaining practical knowledge and developing strong business proposals, many participants
lack the financial resources to implement their plans. Introducing seed funding mechanisms or
microfinance opportunities could bridge this gap and help translate their training into sustainable
livelihoods.
The ADEY Program recognizes that inclusion is an ongoing journey. To ensure the success of
participants, the program plans to provide continued mentorship and follow-up support, helping
trainees navigate challenges as they establish businesses and careers. Advocacy also remains a
cornerstone of ADEY’s efforts, focusing on raising awareness about systemic barriers and
promoting inclusive policies that support training and employment opportunities for people with
disabilities.
This inclusive training initiative in the Tigray region exemplifies the ADEY Program’s
commitment to fostering equitable opportunities and creating transformative change. By
equipping young women with disabilities with essential skills and empowering them to take
actionable steps toward self-employment, the program is paving the way for a more inclusive
society.
The broader impact of this initiative is clear: individual empowerment leads to collective
progress. By addressing challenges related to accessibility, communication, and financial
support, future iterations of the program can amplify its transformative potential. The ADEY
Program remains steadfast in its mission to support women with disabilities, ensuring that no one
is left behind in the pursuit of dignity, inclusion, and sustainable development.
Mastercard Foundation
New Work Opportunities in Agriculture for
600,000 Ethiopians
The agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia ("ADEY") Program, a a
flagship partnership between the Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation (ATI) and the
Mastercard Foundation, will enable new and sustained work opportunities by engaging young
people in agricultural inputs and outputs marketing, value addition and agro-processing,
livestock, irrigation and mechanization services, availing affordable access to finance, digital
agriculture, and ensuring policy improvements. Find out more.
Find out more about Mastercard Foundation in Africa.
Ethiopia: The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation Institute (ATI) and the Mastercard
Foundation Partner to Support over 600,000 Young people to Engage in Inclusive and
Dignified Work Opportunities in Agriculture
The agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia (“ADEY”)
Program will support over 600,000 young people, 80 percent of whom will be young
women, to engage in inclusive and dignified work opportunities in the agriculture sector.
Mastercard Foundation
The Ethiopian Agricultural Transformation (ATI) and the Mastercard Foundation have
announced the agriculture-focused Dignified Employment for Youth in Ethiopia (“ADEY”)
Program. ADEY will enable new and sustained work opportunities by engaging young people in
agricultural inputs and outputs marketing, value addition and agro-processing, livestock,
irrigation and mechanization services, availing affordable access to finance, digital agriculture,
and ensuring policy improvements.