Yoma Digital Marketplace — AI-Matched Learning Pathways for Youth in Burundi and Beyond

Yoma (Youth Agency Marketplace) is a digital platform built by UNICEF's Generation Unlimited partnership with GIZ, the European Union/BMZ, Fondation Botnar and local implementer RLabs. Young people set goals and complete a profile; the platform's matching engine recommends individualised learning courses, volunteering "impact tasks" and livelihood opportunities from that profile, and completed opportunities are recorded as portable digital credentials backed by blockchain. The platform launched simultaneously in Nigeria and Burundi in July 2020, including a Kirundi-language rollout reaching youth in Makamba Province.
Reported reach varies by source and snapshot date, so figures should not be blended: the European Commission's International Partnerships page reports over 250,000 young people participating and 784,500+ digital tokens awarded, against an original target of 3 million participants by end-2022. UNDP's later Digital X case study reports 2,465,510 youth engagements, 105,000+ registered users, 45,500 completed opportunities with certificates, and a targeted gender-inclusion pathway that invited 4,200 young women (83% of invitees) and saw 270 complete it (81% of completers). An earlier 2020 COVID-19 challenge run, described by technical partner Trinsic, saw 85,000 express interest, 35,000 start, and 9,500 complete tasks and receive verifiable credentials.
Limitations documented in these sources: the 'Zlto' token reward system is redeemable for goods and services only in South Africa and Nigeria, restricting its practical value elsewhere; none of the sources provide longer-term employment or earnings outcomes for participants; and the wide spread between registered users, engagements and actual completions across sources (e.g. 45,500 completions against 2.46 million engagements in the UNDP report) suggests most youth interactions do not convert into a completed credential.

Read the full analysis: https://international-partnerships.ec.europa.eu/policies/programming/projects/digital-marketplace-yoma-empowering-african-youth-their-journey-learning-earning_en