SNV, a development organisation from the Netherlands, and Dashen Bank have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote youth engagement in micro and small-scale enterprises. This comes as part of the organisation's Realising Aspiration Youth in Ethiopia through Employment (RAYEE) project, which targets to create employment opportunities for 240,000 young people in the Oromia, Amhara, Tigray and Southern regional states and Dire Dawa city. Set to last until the end of 2024, the project is expected to improve employment services and labour market outcomes for youth by facilitating access to financial services and markets and providing tailored training courses. The efforts are also geared to lean toward young women who make up 70pc of the targeted beneficiaries, most of whom are engaged in agribusiness. The project is funded by the Mastercard Foundation as part of its Young Africa Works strategy. The Foundation launched this aiming to create employment for 30 million young people across Africa, 10 million of which are in Ethiopia, by 2030.