Report

This report examines how public policies at national, regional, and local levels can support job creation, economic growth and social inclusion by overcoming obstacles to business start-ups and self-employment by people from disadvantaged or under-represented groups in entrepreneurship. It shows substantial potential to combat unemployment and increase labor market participation by facilitating business creation in populations such as women, youth with disabilities, the unemployed, and immigrants.

The paper presents a qualitative case study of individuals who were all trained to be online freelancers using digital “gig” work platforms (e.g., Upwork) by “Virtualahan,” a social enterprise based in the Philippines. The findings indicate that online technology-facilitated employment has broader implications than an improved financial situation. Employment through online technology increased the informants self-confidence and how their families perceive them. 

The report analyzed the disability practices and financial performance of the 140 companies participating in the Disability Equality Index (DEI) — a benchmarking tool that gives businesses an objective score on their disability inclusion policies and practices — over four years. A key finding of the report is that companies that embrace best practices for employing and supporting more persons with disabilities in the workforce have outperformed their peers.

This report connects different social and economic dimensions and looks at the key trends of the future of work from a disability perspective. It provides recommendations of action needed to shape the future of work in a more disability-inclusive way.

This report reviews the main challenges to the realization of ICT-enabled inclusive development and presents cost-beneficial policy and practice recommendations for governments and development practitioners.

The report shows the need for comprehensive and inclusive policies that address the demand and supply side of the labour market, working both with employers and persons with disabilities. Promoting the labour market inclusion of persons with disabilities requires mainstream and specialized services, as well as promoting an environment that is more conducive to decent work for persons with disabilities. Incentives need to be generated for persons with disabilities, employers and institutions to promote the entry and retention of persons with disabilities in the labour market.

Digital technologies can facilitate new opportunities and create challenges for the technical and vocational education and training (TVET) sectors. This report provides a global, high-level snapshot of the digitalization of TVET and skills systems in a set of countries and international organizations.

With rapid technological growth, there is an increased opportunity to better link digital finance and business platforms for young entrepreneurs, especially in developing countries. This report provides trends related to youth entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in South Asia and South East Asia based on results from Findex and Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) survey data and qualitative insights from an online survey of 64 young entrepreneurs.

The research reviews the entrepreneurial ecosystem to assess the capacity to foster young green entrepreneurship and address social and environmental challenges. The report considers from the perspective of key stakeholders, primarily those providing business development services and experts in the field of youth and social entrepreneurship and government representatives and entrepreneurs themselves.

This report examines the challenge facing youth seeking employment in Sub-Saharan Africa's mobile industry: the skills gap. It then explains how the mobile industry will continue to be a significant job creator for youth and unpack the role the industry will play in creating jobs and supporting youth through their employment journeys.