On October 3, the Citi Foundation announced the 50 community organisations selected for its 2025 Global Innovation Challenge, each receiving $500,000 in grant funding. The initiative aims to advance creative employment solutions for low-income youth, reinforcing Citi and the Citi Foundation’s long-standing commitment to empowering young people and supporting their economic futures.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Vietnam has been selected as the finalist from Vietnam. With support from Citi Foundation, UNDP Vietnam is launching RiseUp, a cross-sector national initiative that equips low-income youth with vocational, digital, green, and financial skills.

The initiative aims to bridge critical skills gaps, enhance employability, and foster upward social mobility.

By connecting youth, educators, and employers, RiseUp helps build a more inclusive and future-ready workforce for Vietnam’s evolving economy.

Youth unemployment is an ongoing and pervasive issue. Despite recent progress, the International Labour Organisation 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,” he added.

The $25 million in grant support from the Citi Foundation will enable the community organisations, which were selected through a competitive Request for Proposals process, to pilot and scale employment solutions for low-income youth.

The grants will support various schemes, such as upskilling for digital literacy (including AI), technical and vocational training, work-based learning, career guidance and resources for entrepreneurs and mentorship.

“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.”

Activities 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.