Mali promotes AI as a tool for youth employment
Government expands training and entrepreneurship programs nationwide
Informal work and high youth inactivity remain major challenges

Mali wants to harness artificial intelligence as a driver of youth employment rather than allow it to become a new source of exclusion. A Malian delegation delivered that message in Geneva on Friday, June 5, during the general debate of the 114th International Labour Conference (ILC-114).

Reforms to turn words into action

Labour and Social Dialogue Minister Fassoun Coulibaly led the Malian delegation, accompanied by Employment and Vocational Training Minister Oumou Sall Seck. His remarks drew on a report by International Labour Organization (ILO) Director-General Gilbert Houngbo, which advocates a human-centred approach to AI — a perspective Bamako said it fully shares.

Properly governed, technology offers a major opportunity to create decent and sustainable jobs, Coulibaly said. He called for stronger public institutions and active social dialogue as the only safeguards against the digital divide.

To turn that vision into reality, Bamako has launched several structural initiatives. A national entrepreneurship strategy backed by a 2026-2030 action plan has been adopted. A national employment policy and a vocational training policy are being finalised. On the ground, nine vocational training centres have been built, rehabilitated or equipped. A national certification framework is under preparation. Worksite-based training programmes have also been launched to help young people enter the labour market more quickly.

The country is also seeking to reduce the dominance of the informal economy. A national study on formalising the sector is underway under the National Strategy for Emergence and Sustainable Development (SNEDD) 2024-2033.

A labour market under demographic pressure

These efforts come as Mali’s labour market remains marked by deep vulnerabilities. The ILO estimates youth unemployment among those aged 15 to 24 at 3.9% in 2025, a figure that obscures a far bleaker reality. The NEET rate — those not in employment, education or training — stood at 30.1% in 2024, also according to the ILO.

Around 95.5% of Malian workers are employed in the informal economy, a share that approaches 99% among those aged 15 to 29. Agriculture accounts for 64.2% of total employment and more than 70% of jobs held by young workers. Mali’s population was estimated at 25.2 million in 2025, with a median age of 16.8 years. Annual demographic growth of 3% is placing sustained pressure on the labour market.

In its World Employment and Social Outlook 2026 report, the ILO warns that digital transitions could deepen these vulnerabilities. ILC-114 gives Bamako a platform to anchor its reforms within the global human-centred labour agenda. Whether those reforms move beyond announcements to deliver concrete and lasting jobs remains to be seen.

Félicien Houindo Lokossou