The second project of Vocational Training, Integration and Support for the Entrepreneurship of Young Rurals - FIER II - has signed agreements with 19 public and private structures. The event took place on Monday 19 January 2026 at the headquarters of the National Council of the Patronate of Mali. It is part of the implementation of the project's activities and is chaired by the Minister of Entrepreneurship, Employment and Vocational Training.
The FIER II project will do so – to carry out its activities to support rural youth. For example, it has entered into partnership agreements with public technical services, decentralised financial structures and regional councils in its intervention areas. More specifically, 19 agreements now involve FIER II and departments of the Ministry of Entrepreneurship, Employment and Vocational Training, namely: the National Directorate of Vocational Training (DNFP), the National Directorate of Employment (DNE), the National Observatory for Employment and Training (ONEF), the Agency for the Promotion of Youth Employment (APEJ), the National Institute of Vocational Training Engineering (INIFORP). In addition, other ministerial departments such as the National Directorate of Agriculture (DNA), the National Directorate of Fisheries (DNP), the National Directorate of Rural Engineering (DNGR), the National Directorate of Veterinary Services (DNSV), the National Directorate of Animal Products and Industries (DNPIA), the National Directorate of Sanitation and Pollution Control (DNACPN) and the National Directorate of Non-Formal Education and National Languages (DNEF-LN).
The Decentralized Financial Structures (DFS) are also part of the FIER II partners, including CAECE JIGISEME, KAFO JIGINEW, CVECA ON, CEVCA SINISIGI, RMCR and NYESIGISO. Finally, the Regional Councils of the four former project regions, Kayes, Koulikoro, Ségou and Sikasso, signed the partnership agreements.
The act of engagement was welcomed by the Secretary General of the Ministry of National Entrepreneurship, Employment and Vocational Training Drissa Guindo representing the Minister at the ceremony. He said that the purpose of the signature was to formalize a framework for collaboration between the FIER II project and the identified stakeholders to facilitate the orientation, training and financing of the economic projects of rural young people with a view to their economic inclusion in their homelands.
Indeed, the partnership agreements called Memoranda of Understanding define the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders.
Their duration of execution is three (03) years. The results should include:
- Technical and entrepreneurial training for 15,000 rural youth, 40% of whom are young women;
- The establishment and operationalization of a sustainable financing mechanism;
- Financing 14,000 economic projects for young people;
- The facilitation of the construction of aggregative infrastructures (e.g. rice perimeter, market gardening perimeters, fish-farming perimeters, cork park, artisanal centres, etc.).
Thus, the annual execution of these memoranda will be assessed and the continuation of the partnership will be linked to the achievement of at least 80% of the targets set by key performance indicator.
The cost of implementing the 19 Memoranda of Understanding with partners is estimated at 25 188 450 198 CFAF.
Mr Guindo welcomed the commitment of the private sector represented by decentralized financial structures through their participation in financing rural youth, which is a bottleneck for entrepreneurship in general. He also urged local and regional authorities, specifically the Regional Councils, to be the main actors in the implementation of the various partnerships in order to ensure their success and ensure the achievement of the expected results.
To this end, he recalled that the Regional Councils, in addition to being the regional trustees of the FIER II project, are the direct responsible for planning and directing development at the level of their respective territories. As a result, they provide the interface between stakeholders and the populations concerned. As part of the partnerships, they will work to bring together the regional technical services of sectoral ministries, professional peasant organisations and consular chambers around the activities of the FIER II project.
The Secretary-General of MENEFP finally expressed his thanks to the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) for its constant support in Mali and invited him to continue his partnership always positively and with a win-win goal.
On behalf of the signatories, the first vice-president of the Regional Council of Ségou Yaya Bamba affirmed the determination of all partners to work for the proper execution of the missions assigned to them.
Other collaborative arrangements are planned, including with peasant-based organizations and persons with disabilities, technical services, NGOs and study offices.
