A Promise Too Big to Keep
For decades, USAID has positioned itself as the benevolent force behind Ethiopia’s development, funding billion-dollar projects designed to uplift the country’s most vulnerable populations. The agency has long been the go-to source for ambitious, multi-year initiatives aimed at solving unemployment, poverty, and health crises. The pitch is always the same: with just the right amount of American dollars, the problems of a developing nation can be fixed.
Among these grandiose projects, Kefeta—Amharic for “to elevate”—stood out as a particularly ambitious promise. With a budget of $60 million and a goal to transform the lives of 2 million Ethiopian youth over five years, Kefeta was supposed to be a game changer. It was going to train young people, find them jobs, create financial inclusion, and build youth-friendly health centers.
But now, just three years into the program, the numbers tell a different story—one of underperformance, poor planning, and an increasingly frustrated youth population left with nothing but empty promises.
And with Donald Trump’s decision to dismantle USAID entirely, Kefeta’s fragile structure is now collapsing. But the bitter truth is this: Kefeta was failing long before Trump pulled the plug.
A Catalogue of Broken Promises
Kefeta was supposed to be the lifeline for Ethiopia’s youth, a country where unemployment rates hover above 25% in urban areas and millions of young people struggle to find meaningful work. It was meant to offer them advocacy training, financial services, and job creation programs that would give them a shot at a better future.
Instead, two years in, the results are embarrassingly low.
| Goal | Target (5-Year Goal) | Actual Progress (Year 2, June 2022) | Completion Rate | Assessment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workforce Development Training | 236,000 youth | 511 trained in work readiness, 738 in life skills, 283 in entrepreneurship | 0.7% | Completely off track. At this rate, Kefeta would need 280+ years to meet its training goal. |
| Full-Time Job Creation | 50,000 jobs | 481 jobs and internships created | 0.9% | Severely underperforming. Job creation is practically nonexistent compared to expectations. |
| SACCOs for Youth Financial Inclusion | 150,000 youth | SACCOs launched in 3 cities, no numbers on total beneficiaries | Unclear progress | Not transparent. No data on whether young people are actually accessing financial services. |
| Youth Advocacy Training | 16,000 youth | 703 trained | 4.4% | Way behind schedule. Even if the pace doubles, Kefeta will still fail to meet its target. |
| Health Service Provider Training | 1,100 providers | 130 trained | 11.8% | Slightly better performance, but still behind schedule. |
| Youth-Friendly Hubs | 61 centers | No clear reporting on progress | Uncertain | Lack of transparency. Either no progress has been made, or the numbers are being withheld. |
The project isn’t just failing—it’s barely even functioning. At this rate, Kefeta won’t meet its goals even if it were extended another 20 years.
What went wrong?
USAID’s Playbook: Throw Money, Call It Progress
USAID’s strategy in Ethiopia, and many other parts of the world, has always been volume over depth. The agency funds flashy projects, doles out big numbers, launches massive PR campaigns, and then moves on before anyone can fully assess the impact.
Projects like Kefeta look great on paper. They promise millions of dollars, millions of beneficiaries, and grand transformation stories. But once the press releases are out and the launch events are over, reality sets in:
- There are no sustainable employment opportunities.
- Training programs don’t lead to actual jobs.
- The bureaucracy eats up most of the budget before it even reaches the intended recipients.
For Kefeta, the math was flawed from the start. The idea that $60 million could fundamentally change the lives of 2 million youth over five years was always an illusion. That’s $30 per youth per year—barely enough to buy them a meal, let alone offer meaningful job training or financial services.
The Consequences of False Hope
If Kefeta had simply failed quietly, it might have been just another forgotten development project, buried in the archives of USAID’s long history of underwhelming interventions. But its real damage is in the hope it instilled—hope that is now unraveling into disappointment, frustration, and disillusionment among Ethiopian youth.
For thousands of young people who enrolled in advocacy training, business courses, and financial programs, the assumption was that these efforts would lead somewhere. That they would graduate into a network of support, job placement, and resources that would actually help them break free from poverty.
Instead, they are left with meaningless certificates, unpaid internships, and a market that has no space for them.
What happens when you repeatedly raise expectations and fail to deliver? You don’t just waste money—you create a generation of young people who no longer believe in the system.
The Trump Factor: An Easy Scapegoat for a Bigger Failure
Now, as Trump dismantles USAID, some will point to this decision as the reason why projects like Kefeta are failing.
That would be convenient. But the truth is, Kefeta was failing long before Trump decided to shut the lights off at USAID.
If anything, the program’s collapse should serve as a wake-up call to Ethiopia and other aid-dependent nations:
- Stop relying on foreign aid to fix systemic issues.
- Demand better accountability from NGOs and government-run projects.
- Focus on local solutions instead of outsourcing development to an American agency that has no long-term stake in Ethiopia’s success.
What Ethiopia Can Learn from the Death of Kefeta
Now that the funding is drying up, Ethiopia must ask itself: What comes next?
Instead of waiting for the next USAID-funded initiative, Ethiopia needs to:
- Prioritize sustainable job creation over training programs.
- If training doesn’t lead to actual employment, it’s pointless.
- Build financial inclusion through Ethiopian-owned initiatives.
- SACCOs shouldn’t need foreign aid to exist—they should be locally driven.
- Demand greater transparency from development partners.
- If a program isn’t meeting its targets, call it out—before it wastes millions.
- Encourage private sector involvement.
- Government and NGOs alone can’t fix the economy—local businesses need to be engaged.
The End of USAID and the Beginning of Accountability
USAID’s departure will be painful. But maybe, in its absence, Ethiopia will finally be forced to take a hard look at what works, what doesn’t, and how to build real solutions instead of illusions.
For years, projects like Kefeta have been held up as symbols of progress while failing behind the scenes. Perhaps it’s time to stop waiting for salvation from Washington and start designing a future that isn’t dependent on the empty promises of foreign aid.
Because if Kefeta teaches us anything, it’s that hope without results is just another form of betrayal.
I think you have got it wrong! The data you showed is outdated, which reads June 2022, even that is not correct. If you were a journalist you would have used latest data and also pursue the opinion of the implementers. This is totally shameful!
The article could have been more great if the author had incorporated direct input from USAID staff involved in the Kefeta project. For example: interviews with project managers, field workers, and other stakeholders would have provided valuable firsthand insights into the challenges faced and the strategies employed to address them. By using this information, readers would have gotten a better perspective of the nuance on both the project’s achievements and its setbacks. Additionally, the article appears to rely on selective data to highlight the project’s shortcomings. A more balanced analysis would have included a broader examination of available evidence, recognizing both areas of progress and ongoing challenges. Even in projects that encounter difficulties, success stories often emerge. Featuring interviews with beneficiaries who have experienced tangible improvements in their lives due to the Kefeta project would have added depth and context to the discussion. Rather than focusing solely on critiquing USAID, the article could have also presented constructive recommendations for strengthening development aid.
The Kefeta project has played a vital role in empowered me in transformative ways, in away that i always hope every visionary Ethiopian youth can experience. Through its various empowerment programs, I gained invaluable skills in leadership, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and financial management, among many others. These opportunities allowed me to turn my vision into action, and I am a living witness to Kefeta’s impact. It is disheartening to see false and unreliable criticism directed at such a transformative initiative. Instead of acknowledging its success, some attempt to discredit it with baseless claims—an act akin to biting the very hand that feeds us.
What concerns me even more is the mindset of some of my fellow youth. We live in a time when programs like Kefeta provide us with tools, mentorship, and platforms to grow, yet many expect opportunities to be handed to them effortlessly. Across Africa, young people are striving to access such programs, yet in Ethiopia, we often fail to recognize and fully utilize what is available to us. Some seem to believe that success should come through miracles rather than effort.
The truth is, no program can single-handedly transform lives without the commitment and hard work of those it aims to support. Projects like Kefeta create pathways, but it is up to us to walk them. Blaming the program for our failures while not taking responsibility for our own actions is misguided. Instead of waiting for someone to do the work for us, we must take initiative, apply the skills we gain, and maximize every opportunity presented to us.
Rather than criticizing Kefeta with unfounded accusations, we should appreciate and encourage such initiatives. They are not just programs; they are life-changing platforms designed to uplift Ethiopian youth. Let us focus on making the most of these opportunities, rather than seeking excuses for our inaction. It is our responsibility to rise, take charge of our future, and ensure that such initiatives continue to empower generations to come.
What I share from this post is the insight that we, as Ethiopians, must focus on local strategies and support initiatives that empower local businesses rather than relying solely on external aid. Sustainable growth comes from within—through our own efforts, innovations, and collaborations. However, while advocating for self-reliance, we must also acknowledge the real efforts of aid programs that genuinely strive to improve lives.
Projects like Kefeta are not about creating dependency; they are about providing the right tools and opportunities for youth to build a better future. Criticizing such initiatives unfairly disregards the tangible impact they have had on many individuals, including myself. Instead of dismissing their contributions, we should use them as stepping stones to foster long-term, self-sustaining progress.
True empowerment lies in finding a balance—leveraging available resources while also working toward a future where we rely more on our own initiatives.