The TRACE group is rolling out its training project, Trace Academia, as a free mobile app in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation. This announcement follows the official launch of Trace Academia as a platform in South Africa in May 2021. The goal? To train 26,000 young Africans in digital professions.
Active since 2017, the TRACE multimedia group is multiplying its initiatives across its various areas of activity, including television, radio, and digital media. Today, the group is seeking to diversify in order to support the training of the younger generation across the continent.
The free mobile app, Trace Academia, offers courses and features developed by Trace in partnership with a coalition of leading organizations and companies such as Google, the L'Oréal Foundation, AFD, UNESCO, Orange, Canal+, SACEM, Visa, Schneider Electric, Durex, Leroy Merlin, the French Ministry of Finance, Bureau Veritas, the Ford Foundation, Afreximbank, Accor-Kasada, the African Union, the University of Johannesburg, Senghor University, Valued Citizens, TPG Growth, Satya Capital, Trace, BDD Software, Bain & Co, Havas, and many others.
According to Olivier Laouchez, co-founder and executive chairman of Trace, "Our courses and certificates are created in partnership with leading players in industry, government, and the non-commercial sector. This free and easy-to-use app aims to train 26 million young Africans by 2026 with the skills they need to find or create jobs and access opportunities to help them start their careers. A person's environment at birth should never be a barrier to their success."
The new Trace Academia platform represents an important contribution to the youth employment agenda in Africa. Africa is the youngest continent in the world, with nearly 65% of its population under the age of 25. Africa is home to the workforce of tomorrow. With the right skills and access to job opportunities, young people will be the greatest drivers of transformation on the continent.