One thing I have learned after working in the international development sector for over 30 years is that there are rarely simple answers to why something is happening.

As we celebrate International Youth Day this week, I have been asking myself why it is that year after year, senior leaders are quick to applaud young people for speaking out but are so reluctant to make real space for them at the decision-making tables?

Sherwan, a 26-year-old entrepreneur from Guyana with a successful food truck, wanted to expand his business.

Many young people living in developing countries have heard the constant refrain from their governments, NGOs, and other community actors that the path to the future is via entrepreneurship.

As a young Nigerian who has lived in the United States for little over a year, I have mixed feelings of anxiety, uncertainty, worry, and hope during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

As I reflect on the last five years of YouthPower Learning, I think about the youth leaders and advocates like Annet Birungi, co-founder of Safeplan Uganda and a YouthPower Learning grantee.

Harriet Tubman, Susan B. Anthony, Rosa Parks, Amelia Earhart, Ruth Bader Ginsburg…These are just a few of the names that come to mind when young women in the United States think about strong role models on International Women’s Day.

This blog post was originally published by FinDev Gateway blog in November 2019.

Originally published by CGAP on October 22, 2019