Generation Alive Trains 756 Youths in Digital Business Skills in Kanyama

By Samuel Mbewe.

Lusaka — Generation Alive, in partnership with Digital Opportunity Trust, has successfully trained the final cohort of 756 youths in Kanyama Constituency in digital business skills, leadership development, coaching, and peer-to-peer learning.

The initiative aims to empower young people to effectively use online platforms to market their businesses, formalize their enterprises, and improve their livelihoods in an increasingly digital economy.

Speaking during the graduation ceremony, Generation Alive Executive Director Womba Wanki emphasized the importance of equipping Zambia’s predominantly youthful population with relevant skills that enable them to contribute meaningfully to national development.

She noted that the training also focused on helping participants understand how to register and formalize their businesses with key institutions such as the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA), the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), and financial institutions.

“As Generation Alive, our focus is young people, our focus is children. Seeing so many young people benefiting from this program fills me with a lot of joy,” Ms. Wanki said.

Officiating at the event on behalf of Lusaka Permanent Secretary Engineer Joe Kalusa, Director of Finance at the Ministry of Finance and National Planning, Mathews Kapansa, said the initiative had equipped young women and men, particularly in Kanyama, with practical skills aligned to today’s economic realities.

Mr. Kapansa highlighted that the Eighth National Development Plan (8NDP) prioritizes youth empowerment and employment, skills development for the digital economy, entrepreneurship and innovation, as well as gender equality and inclusion.

“This program speaks directly to these national priorities. Through digital business training, leadership development, coaching, and peer-to-peer learning, young people have gained practical skills that respond to today’s economic challenges,” he said.

He added that as technology and innovation continue to reshape the world of work, programs such as this ensure that young people are not left behind but are instead positioned to create opportunities for themselves and others.

Addressing the graduating youths, Mr. Kapansa urged them to apply the skills they had acquired and to view graduation as the beginning of their entrepreneurial journey rather than the end. He encouraged them not to wait for government employment but to partner with government by creating jobs.

He further challenged the graduates to serve as role models and mentors within their communities.

Meanwhile, Kanyama Member of Parliament Monty Chinkuli said the knowledge and skills gained by the youths would contribute positively to economic growth at both constituency and national levels.

Mr. Chinkuli also encouraged the youths to remain focused and productive, urging them to take advantage of opportunities available to them. He took the opportunity to sensitize them on the recently enacted Bill 7, which he said provides greater opportunities for youths, women, and persons with disabilities to participate in governance, including Parliament.

Zambia’s population is largely youthful, and initiatives such as this continue to play a critical role in enabling young people to meaningfully contribute to the development of their communities and the nation at large.