In 2019, YBI and our members Bangladesh Youth Enterprise Advice & Helpcentre (BYEAH) and Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) launched the ‘Accelerating Youth-led Businesses in the Digital Era’ programme, funded by IKEA Foundation, to support young people in India and Bangladesh to become successful entrepreneurs, break out of the poverty cycle, and create jobs for others.
Over three years, the programme has:
Millions of young people in India and Bangladesh are unemployed or trapped in low-wage, low-skilled or unsafe jobs. Many lack the skills and capacities to succeed in today’s rapidly changing world of work, particularly regarding the adoption of digital technologies. Without access to a decent and stable income, young people struggle to provide a better future for themselves or their families.
Youth Business International's and IKEA Foundation’s joint initiative recognised the potential of youth enterprises to become engines for job creation and provided opportunities for more young people to get out of the poverty cycle. It supported over 3,200 entrepreneurs in India and Bangladesh to start over 1,200 new businesses and strengthen over 1,400 existing businesses – making a lasting impact on the lives of the entrepreneurs, their businesses and communities.
The programme was implemented by YBI members Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) in India and Youth Enterprise Advice and Helpcentre (B’YEAH) in Bangladesh. The regional focus facilitated collaboration and sharing of learning, which can be scaled across the YBI network to serve young entrepreneurs around the world.
The programme had three key components:
Find out how the programme has supported young entrepreneurs Sabiha Islam Bithi (Purnota Craft) from Bangladesh and Swapnil Borge (M/s Swayog Agrotech) from India: