Botswana Hosts Stakeholder Meeting to Localize Youth Marketplace Platform YOMA

Botswana Hosts Stakeholder Meeting to Localize Youth Marketplace Platform YOMA. The Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs, in collaboration with key national and international partners, has launched a stakeholder meeting focused on localizing the Youth Agency Marketplace (YOMA) platform in Botswana. The two-day session, held in Gaborone, aims to align youth development strategies with digital innovation and employment pathways.

YOMA is a digital ecosystem designed to connect young people with social engagement opportunities, skills-building tasks, and employment prospects. Youth participants earn tokens through completed tasks, tracked via a digital ID (YoID), which can be redeemed for digital or physical rewards.

The meeting brought together representatives from the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs, Ministry of Trade and Entrepreneurship, Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, Botswana Innovation Hub, UNICEF, De Beers Group, and others to explore how the platform can support Botswana’s youth empowerment agenda.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Nkoloi Nkoloi, Director of Youth in the Ministry of Youth and Gender Affairs, emphasized the need for coordinated action to tackle youth unemployment. He noted that the government, in partnership with Generation Unlimited (GenU) and other stakeholders, is exploring solutions to equip youth with relevant employability skills and connect them to real-world opportunities.

For Botswana’s entrepreneurs and businesses, the localization of YOMA presents an opportunity to engage with a digitally active youth base, source talent, and support national job creation efforts.