PLACING MILLIONS OF PAKISTANI YOUTH IN JOBS | 72039119APS00001

Opportunity Information: Apply for 72039119APS00001

The grant opportunity titled "Placing Millions of Pakistani Youth in Jobs" (Funding Opportunity Number 72039119APS00001) is a USAID/Pakistan initiative issued as an Annual Program Statement (APS) that targets large-scale job placement outcomes for Pakistani youth. In practical terms, it is a call to the private sector to come forward with ideas and partnership concepts that can help place millions of young Pakistanis into employment, both inside Pakistan and in overseas labor markets, with an intended time horizon reaching to 2023. The opportunity is framed around collaboration rather than a pre-designed, one-size-fits-all program, meaning USAID is explicitly inviting businesses and industry actors to propose how they can work together with USAID to achieve measurable employment results.

A central feature of this APS is that it is designed to mobilize private sector resources alongside USAID support. Instead of USAID acting as the sole funder and implementer, the statement emphasizes partnerships and alliances where private companies contribute assets such as financing, hiring commitments, training capacity, market access, recruitment networks, technology platforms, or other operational capabilities. The goal is to encourage activities that are co-developed with the private sector, where the proposed interventions are grounded in real labor demand and have a clear pathway to actual job placements rather than only training or pilot activities.

The opportunity is categorized under Employment, Labor, and Training and uses a grant instrument under a discretionary funding category. It is administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development, Pakistan (USAID-Islamabad). The listing also signals that eligibility is not limited to a narrow set of applicants; it indicates "Others" with additional eligibility details referenced in the original announcement, which typically implies a broader pool that can include private sector entities and potentially other organizations that can effectively partner with businesses to deliver employment outcomes.

From a funding perspective, the opportunity lists an award ceiling of $9,300,000 and anticipates up to four awards. This structure suggests USAID expected to support multiple partnerships or consortia rather than a single national program, potentially allowing different awards to focus on distinct sectors, geographic areas, or job pathways (for example, domestic industry employment pipelines versus overseas placement channels). The APS was created on March 12, 2019, with an original closing date of March 11, 2020, indicating a year-long window during which concept notes or partnership applications could be developed and submitted under the APS process.

Strategically, USAID positions this APS as aligned with its Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS) priorities for Pakistan. That alignment matters because it signals the outcomes USAID cares about most: results-focused, high-impact interventions that can operate at scale and deliver concrete employment gains. The language about fostering a "diverse array" of partnerships implies USAID was open to different models as long as they are credible, market-driven, and capable of producing significant job placement numbers. Overall, the opportunity is best understood as a flexible partnership platform meant to bring employers and labor-market actors to the table, leverage private sector strengths, and accelerate large-scale youth employment placement outcomes by connecting young Pakistanis to real jobs at home and abroad.

• The Agency for International Development, Pakistan USAID-Islamabad in the employment, labor and training sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "PLACING MILLIONS OF PAKISTANI YOUTH IN JOBS" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 98.001.
• This funding opportunity was created on Mar 12, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 11, 2020. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $9,300,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 4 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

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