Multiplying and Mixing: Livelihood Strategies Among Out-of-School Youth in Tanzania

This chapter examines the multiple and mixed livelihoodMultiple and mixed livelihood strategies that out-of-school youthOut-of-school youth in TanzaniaTanzania used to earn a living in the informal economy. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the strategies that these economically and socially marginalized youth employ to survive and thrive despite the great uncertainty of their environments. Multiple livelihood strategies are relying on many different activities within or across sectors; mixed livelihood strategies are those that cross sectors, such as agricultural and non-agricultural work. This study documents the livelihood strategies of young men and women who had to leave school because they did not pass their secondary school qualifying exams. Without an official secondary school certificate, youth were limited to informal and micro-enterprise activities. Tracking livelihood strategies and setbacks, this mixed-methods research shows how young people cope with the precarity in the world of informal work. Survey and interview data show youth engaging in multiple and mixed livelihood strategies, including differences between genders and rural and urban areas. The findings offer practitioners and decision-makers who lead and finance entrepreneurshipFinance/financialentrepreneurship training programs insights into how youth mixed and multiplied livelihood strategies to navigate the informal economy to ensure programming reflects youth’s lived experiences and economic realities.