Accelerating Youth-led Businesses in the Digital Era

Youth Business International (YBI) and the IKEA Foundation are implementing a regional programme to equip young people in India and Bangladesh with the entrepreneurship skills they need to build and sustain thriving businesses, create jobs and boost local economies.

Programme overview

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 and IKEA Foundation’s joint initiative recognises the potential of youth enterprises to become engines for job creation and provide opportunities for more young people to get out of poverty cycle. It aims to equip 3,200 young entrepreneurs in India and Bangladesh with the knowledge and skills they need to start and grow a business, creating over 6,200 quality jobs.

The programme is implemented by YBI members Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST) in India and Youth Enterprise Advice and Helpcentre (B’YEAH) in Bangladesh. The regional focus facilitates collaboration and sharing of learning, which can be scaled across the YBI network to serve young entrepreneurs around the world.

Programme Structure

The programme has three key components:

• Design and implementation of country-level projects: young entrepreneurs are provided with training, mentoring, access to low interest loans and other business development support to start and grow their business;
• Digital accelerator:  YBI’s innovative approach (developed with our flagship partner Accenture) enables members to explore, identify and understand their digital context, adapt their training to address digital skills gaps in young entrepreneurs and improve their own digital capacities; 
• Understanding decent work: through research into decent work, YBI has developed a framework that supports members to implement training that helps young entrepreneurs understand their business and employer regulations and create positive business standards and decent work concepts.

Find out how the programme has supported young entrepreneurs in India and Bangladesh through the COVID-19 crisis: