Citi Foundation Announces Recipients of 2025 Global Innovation Challenge, Granting a Collective $25 Million to 50 Nonprofits Accelerating Youth Employability

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NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct 21, 2025--

The Citi Foundation (the “Foundation”) today announced the 50 community organizations around the world that will each receive $500,000 in grant support as part of its 2025 Global Innovation Challenge. With this support, the selected organizations will help advance innovative employment solutions for low-income youth, building on Citi and the Citi Foundation’s longstanding commitment to young people and their economic futures.

Youth unemployment is an ongoing and pervasive issue. Despite recent progress, the International Labour Organization estimates that 65 million young people globally are unemployed — which places a substantial burden on public resources, increases poverty and stifles growth, presenting a critical challenge to global economic progress.

“As young people today continue to navigate significant barriers to employment, empowering this next generation with relevant skills and meaningful opportunities is critical,” said Edward Skyler, Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs at Citi. “Citi and the Citi Foundation have an established track record of investing in our youth to help them access job opportunities and unlock economic growth more broadly. I look forward to seeing the work of our grantees in action as we work together to help close the job-skills mismatch.”

Young people face many obstacles in their pursuit of employment, but skills mismatch continues to be a particular area of concern. The World Economic Forum reports that 63% of employers identify this as a major barrier to securing a job, and 39% of current skill sets are expected to be outdated within the next five years. In addition, post-pandemic recovery for youth has been uneven — especially in emerging markets — and the acceleration of digital transformation is rapidly reshaping job opportunities. Projections indicate that 60% of employers anticipate broadening digital access transforming their businesses by 2030, creating high demand for new skills in areas such as AI.

The $25 million in grant support from the Citi Foundation will enable these community organizations, which were selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process, to pilot and scale employment solutions for low-income youth. The grants will support a variety of programs, such as upskilling for digital literacy (including AI), technical and vocational training, work-based learning, career guidance and resources for entrepreneurs and mentorship.

These impactful solutions are designed to help young people adapt to rapidly changing economies and a job market that looks different than it has for generations before. The 2025 Global Innovation Challenge is fueling these grantees’ work to foster positive change in their communities around the world including:

• Changing Young Lives Foundation is upskilling low-income youth in Hong Kong and helping them obtain their first jobs in a hiring environment that is driven by AI, providing talent matching analysis, support for how to present themselves while job hunting and teaching both in-person and digital communication skills.
• Education For Employment is providing AI-enabled job matching support and upskilling youth across Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia and the UAE to help them navigate the digital economy.
• Generation is helping low-income youth in Mexico and Colombia gain access to living-wage jobs in the technology sector through trainings on computer programming and information technology and a job placement program.
• Girl Effect is advancing job opportunities for unemployed youth in Kenya, with a focus on girls and young women, through certifications and vocational training, mentorship and testing centers in the creative and digital industries.
• Hayal Ortaklari Denergi (Young Guru Academy) is equipping low-income young people in Türkiye with skills in AI, big data and financial technology to prepare for competitive jobs in the financial technology industry.
• Instituto Oportunidade Social (IOS) is expanding employability for low-income youth in Brazil through free training in information and communication technology, financial literacy, communication skills and AI, while scaling access via online platforms and strengthening pathways to the job market.
• Junior Achievement Romania is supporting low-income youth in Romania, Ireland, Portugal and Hungary to build skills for the retail sector through technical training, internships and job-shadowing as well as training in skills like communication and digital literacy.
• National College of Ireland (NCI) is helping to bridge the gap between education and employment for low-income youth in Dublin, fostering career pathways in the technology and finance sectors that includes mentorship, hands-on industry experience, training and internships.
• NPower is equipping young adults in California and New York from low-income communities with AI training, professional development and social support, to increase the number of participants gaining access to high-quality tech careers and economic mobility.
• ThinkForward (UK) is combining long-term coaching, workplace exposure, mentoring and job creation to expand employment opportunities for low-income youth.
• TOUCH Community Services Limited is providing mentorship and employability skills training for low-income youth in Singapore to help them build technical skills, discover their career aspirations, reduce school dropout rates and ready them for the workplace.
• Year Up United is equipping young adults across the U.S., including California, Greater Washington, D.C., Florida, Illinois and New York with workforce readiness training and specialized skills development, preparing them for careers in fields such as information technology, banking, software development and business.

"Philanthropy is an important part of driving global innovation and long-term progress — it can support exploring new ideas and it can be catalytic, bringing further attention and investments to particular issues and solutions,” said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation and Head of Citi’s Community Investing and Development. “With this 2025 Global Innovation Challenge, we are investing in young people around the world and equipping them with dynamic, community-oriented solutions so they may take charge of their economic futures and succeed in a changing job market.”

Programs funded by these grants will be implemented over two years, and recipients will have access to a learning community of fellow grantees that facilitates opportunities to build deeper connections, share lessons learned and exchange best practices.

For more information, including the complete list of grant recipients, please visit www.citifoundation.com/challenge and follow the impact these organizations are making at #InnovationChallenge on social media.

About The Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.

View source version on businesswire.com:https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251021175094/en/

CONTACT: Julia Drabick, Citi Foundation Communications

[email protected]

KEYWORD: UNITED STATES NORTH AMERICA NEW YORK

INDUSTRY KEYWORD: EDUCATION TRAINING FOUNDATION PHILANTHROPY

SOURCE: The Citi Foundation

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PUB: 10/21/2025 08:45 AM/DISC: 10/21/2025 08:47 AM

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