Join with us to tackle graduate unemployment in Africa
We connect African university students with verified professionals for a better educational experience, mentoring and career pathway guidance
Become a MentorVarsityMentor is a digital network of African professionals in the diaspora and their allies committed to tackling the problem of graduate unemployment in Africa.
Why We Exist
Every year, 3 million students graduate from Africa’s over 1682 universities with no hope of jobs
What We Do
We connect college students in Africa with carefully vetted African professionals and allies for mentoring, skills development and career pathway guidance.
Mentoring
We carefully match college students in Africa with verified well-educated African professionals and their allies for long-term mentoring that lasts the entire duration of a student’s college journey and often beyond. Through strategic mentoring, we guide our students to learn from the experiences of those before them as a way to empower their future.
Training
We run monthly and quarterly workshops and hands-on training programs to equip our students with a self-help mindset and demand-driven skills that lead to world-class success. Our training focuses on both technical and soft skills necessary to thrive in the 21st century workplace.
Pathways to a Career
We partner with industry-leading companies within and outside Africa to develop and match students to internship programs and work opportunities. Through our Pathway to a Career program, we offer insights and support to empower the students to develop methods and habits that lead to professional and leadership growth.
Community Innovation
We sponsor our students to work on collaborative projects for social impact and innovation. Through our Community Innovation program, we support them to design and implement solutions to problems in their local communities, which is geared to equip them to become change makers, expand economic opportunities, and contribute toward a more resilient future for Africa and the world.
How You Can Help
Are you looking for an opportunity to make a difference by sharing your career experiences to inspire and help another person succeed in life? Your experience and advice could be the only career guide a student in Africa might have.
The Problem
Every year, over 10 million students graduate from Africa’s 1225 universities with no hope of jobs
Africa’s higher education does very little to equip students with the skills they need to thrive in the 21st century global workplace. Students come out of school with a poor job fit, lack critical employability skills and have no hope of what to do next. We want to change thisOur Solution
Equip the students with a self-help mindset and demand-driven skills that lead to world-class success
Our solution provides students with a clear vision of how to leverage their talents to build their best possible futures. We leverage a verified pool of African professionals and allies to provide mentoring, skills training, and access to career opportunities. Get involvedOur Approach
Purpose. Hardwork. Integrity
We go beyond mentorship, training and career to excite our students to become agents of change for Africa by grounding all their efforts to build their best possible futures on the three principles of purpose, hardwork and integrity. Learn MoreOur Impact
Transforming Africa one student at a time through mentoring, upskilling and career pathway guidance
In 10 years, we aim to reduce graduate unemployability & unemployment in Africa by a double digit factor by helping African students graduate with a clear vision and practical skills to build a meaningful career, achieve world-class success and contribute to societty.
Mentoring
Through our mentoring programs where we match an African undergraduate student to a verified African professional or ally, we aim to create a new Africa, one student at a time.
Our Students
Our students come from modest backgrounds and in spite of shortcomings inherent in their educational systems, we support them to go on to achieve world-class success.
Training Workshops
Through our training programs, VarsityMentor alumni go on to become leaders in every field imaginable, from business and law, to education and the arts, to science and medicine.
Testimonials
I have always been good at crafting stuff since childhood. But, I ended up studying Mechanical Engineering. With VarsityMentor’s guidance, I brushed up my craft, did a course on UX Design. Now, I work as a product designer.
Gladys3rd year student, Mechanical Engineering, Nnamdi Azikiwe University 
Thank you, VarsityMentor. The opportunity to learn from the experiences of my own brothers and sisters, who were on the same journey that I’m going through now, is inspirational. It gives me the courage to keep pushing.
Ademola2nd year student, Business Admin., University of Calabar 
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Initiatives, Events and Suggested Readings
2023 Community Innovation
Under Community Innovation program, we sponsor our students to select social innovation projects that seek to make life better for their communities and for the world. Students work in teams on the projects throughout their university journeys. Do you want to suggest projects? Get in touch for more information.
Suggested Reading
Do you feel disadvantaged in life? In this book, Ryan Holiday offers a practical approach for turning trials into triumph. Drawing from Stoicism, he drives home the point of Marcus Aurelius: “The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." Could that problem you're facing be an opportunity for your self-improvement?
Career Exposure Summit
Stay tuned for our 2023 Career Exposure Summit coming up in the summer. The event will bring together students, university partners, the business sector, and other stakeholders to discuss the future of work for African youth. Do you want to find out what a rewarding career looks like and how to start one? Get in touch for more information.