The Challenge Fund for Youth Employment is a 7-year programme funded by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and managed by Palladium, VSO Nederland and Randstad. The Fund aims to create a prosperous future for 230,000 young women and men in the Middle East, North Africa, Sahel & West Africa and Horn of Africa. This will be achieved by supporting youth employment initiatives in these regions. There is a key role for private sector in achieving this goal. Initiatives will offer youth, particularly young women, opportunities for decent work that delivers better prospects for personal development, is productive, and offers a stable income, social protection and safe working conditions.