It’s a fact that young entrepreneurs have a positive impact on their local communities and the economy. Through their determination and work, young business owners help tackle unemployment, combat poverty and inequality, and support future economic development.
Despite all of this, there are 64 million young people currently unemployed across the world whose potential is not being realised. Too many underserved young people, those from a refugee or migrant background, young people living with disabilities, women and young people in rural communities aren't receiving the support they need to build their business. Starting a business at the best of times is a challenging experience. Now, with the Covid-19 crisis, young entrepreneurs face even more barriers to accessing the appropriate support.
On this day, we want to share with you the experiences of some of the successful young entrepreneurs we have helped create and grow their small business, as well as some of our key current support projects.
We believe that underserved young entrepreneurs are the key to sustainable growth in their communities. All over the world - from Peru to Bangladesh, from the UK to Kenya, - the YBI network runs programmes that help young people release their entrepreneurial potential.
During the current COVID-19 crisis, many businesses have had to close or have seen their income reduced dramatically. We have scaled our work and adapted our programmes and services to meet their needs and support small businesses. Read more about our Global Response to COVID-19.
US-born Marielle Flores-Moens lived in the Philippines before moving to Belgium to join her now husband. She wanted to create a unique product that merged the best parts of two cultures: cacao beans from the Philippines and the highest Belgian chocolate-making expertise.
The journey wasn’t easy, but with support from our Belgian member microStart, Marielle set up a successful business. This is Marielle’s Theo & Broom business story.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook to read more stories of the young small business owners we're supporting.
We’re a global network of organisations that relies on donations from individuals and partners to support underserved young entrepreneurs. We need your help to scale and adapt our services to the needs created by the COVID-19 crisis. Find out how your donation could help.