MIL Africa Engine

Source: APO

Africa Skills Hub (ASH), a Ghana-based enterprise support organisation focused on youth, women, and SME development, has officially transitioned to ASH Africa (www.ASH.Africa), marking a significant milestone in its 10-year journey of expanding opportunity pathways across the continent.

The rebrand reflects the organisation’s evolution from a skills development entity into a broader pan-African organisation driven by the mission: Transforming Lives. Building Communities. Building Africa.

Founded in 2016 as the Africa Internship Academy (AIA), the organisation initially focused on improving youth employability and access to internship opportunities in Ghana. In 2020, the organisation transitioned into Africa Skills Hub (ASH), expanding its work across enterprise development, financial inclusion, SME support, digital skills, and market systems strengthening.

Over the years, the organisation has extended its reach across all 16 regions of Ghana while implementing programmes and partnerships in multiple African countries.

The transition to ASH Africa reflects the organisation’s growing continental outlook and aligns with its newly launched 2026-2030 Strategic Plan, which outlines a vision to support more than 500,000 youth, women, and SMEs annually by 2030.

Speaking on the transition, Executive Director Daniel Amoako Antwi said:

“For ten years, we have focused on building the connective systems that link skills, capital, enterprise, and market opportunity across Africa. We have evolved from delivering standalone training programmes to building interconnected systems that link people to opportunity. The transition to ASH Africa reflects both the scale of the work we are already doing and the future we are committed to building.

Our goal of reaching 500,000 youth, women, and SMEs annually by 2030 is rooted in a decade of learning about what it takes to shift systems, not just programmes across Africa’s economies.”

According to the organisation, the rebrand does not represent a change in mission, but rather an expansion of scope, engagement, and strategic positioning.

ASH Africa will continue to focus on creating sustainable economic opportunities for youth, women, and SMEs by connecting them to skills development, enterprise support, finance, and market access.

Through its systems-driven model, the organisation aims to address what it describes as a systems challenge — the disconnect between skills acquisition, access to capital, enterprise growth, and market participation.

The new identity also reflects the organisation’s commitment to inclusive growth through partnerships, innovation, research-driven programming, and ecosystem development. Its strategic priorities include skills development, SME growth, market access, digital inclusion, and data-driven advocacy.

A Decade of Impact at a Glance (2016–2026)

Skills & Human Capital Development

• 40,192 youth trained in employability, digital, and enterprise skills
• 30,519 women supported through targeted training and enterprise development programmes

Economic Transition & Employment Outcomes

• 15,753 youth transitioned into employment
• 10,939 new jobs created across supported enterprises

Enterprise Growth & Financial Inclusion

• 9,238 MSMEs supported to adopt sustainable business practices
• GHS 10,789,800 in micro-loans disbursed to improve access to finance and business growth

Geographic Reach & Ecosystem Expansion

• Programmes implemented across all 16 regions of Ghana and multiple African countries

As part of its anniversary and rebranding activities, ASH Africa will roll out a series of engagements highlighting its decade-long journey, institutional evolution, impact stories, and future vision for Africa.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of ASH Africa, formerly Africa Skills Hub.

Media Contact:
Name: Ms Perfect Dadugblor
Senior Communications Officer
Email: perfect.dadugblor@ash.africa
Phone: +233 548 288 182

Social Media:
ASH Africa’s Facebook, Instagram, X, and LinkedIn: @ASHAfrica

About ASH Africa:
ASH Africa is a development organisation creating opportunities for youth, women, and SMEs in Africa by connecting them to skills, capital, and markets. The organisation works across interconnected areas, including skills development, enterprise growth, market access, SME finance, digital economy programming, and research-driven advocacy to create sustainable pathways for inclusive economic participation across Africa.

ASH Africa’s Website: www.ASH.Africa

Source: APO – Report:

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Eswatini’s agricultural future depends on farmers who have long been overlooked. A new gender-responsive toolkit, developed by ITC, the EU, and partners, is putting tools, training, and recognition where they are needed most.

In Eswatini, women do much of the work in agriculture. They plant, weed, and harvest, yet they rarely own the land they work, control the income it generates, or sit at the table where decisions are made. 

Extension services, designed largely around male farmers with land titles and household authority, have left this majority underserved for decades.

‘We cannot achieve full food self-sufficiency if 50% of our workforce – our women farmers – continues to face systemic barriers that limit their productivity,’ says Sydney Simelane, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture.

That gap is now being directly addressed. The European Union and the ITC She Trades initiative, working with the Government of Eswatini and the Eswatini National Agricultural Union (ESNAU), have developed a gender-responsive agricultural services manual and video series. These practical tools are designed to help extension officers, cooperatives, farmer organizations, and agribusiness support institutions redesign how they deliver services to women, youth, and vulnerable groups.

The tools will help update training materials, but also reframe how agricultural services are conceived, moving away from one-size-fits-all approaches toward farmer-centred engagement that acknowledges the real constraints women face. Among the challenges: limited land ownership, restricted decision-making power, and training sessions scheduled at times when women are in the fields or do household chores and caretaking.

‘We don’t just walk into the homestead and say, “you need to do this”,’ says ESNAU CEO Tammy Dlamini. ‘We start conversations that help families solve their own issues and rethink how resources are allocated within households.’

That shift is already producing results. In pilot communities, early evidence points to stronger household collaboration, more inclusive decision-making, and increased participation of women farmers in agricultural activities and markets.

The story of Thembisile Mafu captures what is possible. A young woman from the Shiselweni region, she started with a backyard garden. Through ESNAU training and support, she now farms three hectares and recently won the Agribusiness Entrepreneur of the Year Award in her region. 

‘Back home, they don’t take you seriously if you are female and young,’ she says. ‘But if you continue working and join the trainings, you are able to grow.’

The initiative forms part of the broader EU-ITC programme Eswatini: Promoting Growth Through Competitive Alliances. It arrives in a milestone year, as 2026 marks 50 years of official EU-Eswatini cooperation.

The long-term ambition is nationwide reach – equipping every layer of Eswatini’s agricultural system to deliver services that leave no one behind, and building the inclusive, resilient food economy the country needs.

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– on behalf of International Trade Centre.

Source: APO – Report:

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From 2 to 4 June 2026, Lomé will host the 8th Annual Forum of National Volunteer Agencies in the ECOWAS region. Organised under the theme ‘From knowledge to action: practical tools and reliable data to strengthen the role of volunteering in the ECOWAS region’, this forum brings together stakeholders in the volunteering sector from our Community’s member states, as well as technical and institutional partners.

This high-level meeting will feature plenary sessions and working groups aimed at developing a reference document on the collection and management of data relating to volunteering. The national volunteering agencies and institutions represented will share their experiences and best practices in order to contribute to the harmonisation of data collection mechanisms across the community space.

Through its Volunteer Programme, implemented by the Youth and Sports Development Centre, ECOWAS is firmly committed to making volunteering a driving force for regional integration, the promotion of peace and the acceleration of sustainable development in the region.

The Lomé Forum therefore provides a unique opportunity to harmonize approaches, strengthen cooperation between stakeholders in the voluntary sector and share experiences with a view to consolidating the contribution of volunteering to development within the ECOWAS region.

– on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Source: APO

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UN human rights experts* today expressed deep concern over the resurgence of the Ebola virus in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Uganda, warning that the deadly virus predominantly impacts Indigenous Peoples.

“Declared a public health emergency of international concern by the World Health Organisation, the Ebola outbreak is most prominent within or near Indigenous Peoples’ territories,” the experts said.

Highlighting the Pygmy Indigenous Peoples, the experts note that they often face structural exclusion. “These communities, whose way of life is mobile, depend closely on their territories and natural resources for their subsistence, identity and well-being. Moreover, their limited access to health services makes them particularly exposed to this epidemic.”

The experts welcomed ongoing initiatives by concerned States to contain the outbreak. They called on other States, the international community and United Nations agencies engaged in this effort to ensure equitable and non-discriminatory access to healthcare, as well as to strengthen targeted support for Indigenous Peoples affected or at risk from this epidemic.

“Responses to Ebola must be guided by international standards relating to the rights of Indigenous Peoples, including their rights to health, equal protection and cultural identity. The particular vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples to this epidemic must be recognised and integrated into response strategies,” the experts said.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

Source: APO

On June 3, from 3:50 p.m. for approximately 20 minutes, Mr. ONISHI Yohei, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, held a meeting with H.E. Mr. Wallace Cosgrow, Principal Minister and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Blue Economy of the Republic of Seychelles, who is currently visiting Japan.

1. At the outset, Parliamentary Vice-Minister ONISHI extended his congratulations on the occasion of Seychelles’ 50th anniversary of independence on June 29 of this year, as well as the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Japan and Seychelles this year. He also expressed Japan’s desire to further strengthen cooperation with Seychelles, which is strategically located in the Indian Ocean and shares fundamental values with Japan, as an important partner in realizing a Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).
2. In response, Principal Minister and Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Blue Economy Cosgrow expressed his gratitude to Japan’s support in areas including fishing harbour, and expected for understanding and support for vulnerabilities faced by Seychelles as a small island state.
3. Both sides confirmed their commitment to further deepening cooperation between the two countries, taking the opportunity of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations this year.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

Source: APO

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An elementary school has been constructed in Dele administrative area, Gogni sub-zone, at a cost of over 3 million Nakfa.

Eng. Mengisteab Berhane, head of town planning and infrastructure in the Gash Barka Region, said that the school, constructed in collaboration with the regional administration and members of the Defense Forces, includes five classrooms and offices, among other facilities.

Noting that the construction of the ‘Aimsa’ Elementary School is part of the effort being carried out to ensure social justice, Eng. Mengisteab commended the strong participation of the residents and members of the Defense Forces.

Brigade Chief of Staff Sub-Lieutenant Habtemariam Gebremeskel, noting that members of the Defense Forces are conducting effective development programs in collaboration with the public, said that the construction of the elementary school is a continuation of that effort.

Mr. Franco Kubaba, Director General of Social Services in the Gash Barka Region, and Mr. Yemane Mehari, managing director in Gogni sub-zone, on their part called on parents to play their due role in motivating their children in general and school-aged girls in particular to attend regular education.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Information, Eritrea.