A Global Movement for Youth Empowerment
UPSHIFT celebrates its tenth year of equipping young people with entrepreneurial skills and mindsets
Eighteen-year-old Oscamidi Anne from Madagascar has always dreamed of bringing light to her community—literally. After having to leave her studies during secondary school, she joined UPSHIFT, a social innovator accelerator for young people aged 10-24, offering the tools to drive tangible change in their lives and communities. Alongside other out-of-school youth, she gained entrepreneurial skills to support both social and economic integration.
For Oscamidi Anne, the programme —piloted by Madagascar’s Ministry of Technical Education and Vocational Training (TVET) —has been transformative. She trained as an electrical installer and solar panel specialist and, within a year, opened a kiosk to repair solar panels. Determined to continue her education, she used the income from her business to re-enroll in secondary school while further honing her technical expertise.
“My ambition for the future remains the same: to achieve rural electrification of my home village with my solar panels,” she says. Her journey illustrates how UPSHIFT’s integration into vocational training equips young people with the skills to innovate and create brighter futures for themselves and their communities.
A decade of impact and innovation
Since its origins as a grassroots programme in Kosovo, UPSHIFT has doubled down on the mission to deliver advanced skilling opportunities at a global scale, empowering young people to thrive in every aspect of their personal and professional lives. Now active in almost 60 countries, UPSHIFT has already supported over 5 million graduates aged 10 to 24. Its integration into education systems has accelerated growth, with 40 per cent of these achievements realized in just the past two years.
In 2024 alone, the programme provided 32 million hours of immersive learning, enabling nearly 4,000 young people to graduate each day. At its core, UPSHIFT embraces a simple yet transformative idea: redefining learning by placing young people at the centre of a journey where they can tackle the challenges they are most passionate about solving.
Rooting into education systems
Ten years on, the integration of UPSHIFT into national education systems is a core strategic objective to ensuring systemic and sustainable change. This transition is transforming UPSHIFT from a grassroots initiative into a global force, with young people driving change in classrooms, community centres, and vocational training institutions.
One of UPSHIFT’s greatest strengths is its ability to meet young people wherever they are—whether in schools, community centres, or vocational training programs—and provide them with the tools to lead change. To date, 12 countries have begun to deliver UPSHIFT through their education systems. Dr. Safinah Museene, Director of TVET and Higher Education in Uganda, shared how the country is embedding UPSHIFT within its education system. “Young people are everywhere. In Africa, we have them in school and also out of school. We need to reach youth wherever they are and to provide them with skills they need … The UPSHIFT methodology that we now have integrated within [our] education system with the vocational qualification of ‘Social Innovator’ will help us to do so and reach...those who are out-of-school through existing structures of education and training.”
Transition to global scale
In 2024, UPSHIFT expanded to six more countries—Poland, Bulgaria, Madagascar, Azerbaijan, Lao PDR, and Tunisia—underscoring the programme’s dual-track approach to scaling. More countries adopting UPSHIFT demonstrates sustained global interest and integration into education systems remains the gold standard for ensuring long-term impact. In Poland and Bulgaria, UPSHIFT has become a vital resource for Ukrainian refugees and vulnerable youth in host communities, equipping them with skills to rebuild their lives. In Azerbaijan and Tunisia, the programme is scaling rapidly, extending its reach to more districts and provinces, and tailoring its approach to empower youth in ways that resonate deeply with their communities.
Looking ahead
As UPSHIFT celebrates its eleventh year of equipping young people with entrepreneurial skills, its vision for the future remains bold. By 2030, the programme aims to graduate 20 million young people, preparing them to take on challenges as leaders, innovators, and changemakers.
For educators like Dr. Aishath Ali, Minister of Education in the Maldives, the programme represents more than just skill-building. “Our aim is to provide holistic education that prepares for life, and UPSHIFT provides the tools for this. It signifies hope for a brighter tomorrow.”
Just like Oscamindi Anne, every young person who graduates from UPSHIFT gets not only a certificate, but also a clearer vision of possibilities and purpose. Together, they form a generation ready to address the world’s most pressing issues—one idea, one project, and one community at a time.
