What we do

Entrepreneurship is a transformative option to unlock income generation. Youth entrepreneurship creates decent work for young people, strengthens communities and drives inclusive economic growth, but for too many young people, entrepreneurship is out of reach.

YBI supports young people (18-35) around the world to start, grow and sustain businesses.

Together with our members, we equip disadvantaged young people to build the skills, confidence and connections they need to beat the odds and become successful business owners.

We design programmes and resources specifically for delivery to young people, recognizing the difference this makes to the sustainability and growth of youth-led businesses

Young people are critical to inclusive and sustainable future economic development. However, with 66 million young people currently unemployed across the world, this potential is not being realised. Furthermore, of those that are working, many do not earn enough to lift themselves out of poverty.

Addressing the youth employment crisis is imperative, not only for the well-being of young people but also to ensure sustainable, inclusive growth and social cohesion globally. Empowering young people to succeed in running their own businesses is part of the solution. Young entrepreneurs create new jobs and shape local economies. Young people equipped with entrepreneurship skills are better able to navigate the challenges of today’s rapidly changing job market.

Since 2014, we have supported 239,584 young people to start or grow a business by delivering a range of entrepreneurship support services, from training and mentoring to access to finance and other business development services.

What we do:

We sit at the centre of a global network of entrepreneurship support organisations, themselves innovative local engines of youth entrepreneurship. We are a platform for our members to exchange ideas, knowledge and insights, and to collaborate in a way that catalyses entrepreneurs’ success and multiplies impact.

Together with our partners we foster a culture of collaboration, sharing best-practice and driving innovation to achieve impact at scale

As a network, we work with our members to:

Learn

Building impactful organisations

Our members have diverse expertise across the full range of youth entrepreneurship support services. We deliver training in both hard and soft skills and other capacity development support, facilitate member learning exchanges and connect members to partners with relevant expertise.

Innovate

Developing new products and services

By convening the collective expertise of the network, we have a unique perspective on the state of entrepreneurship so we can identify gaps in support for young entrepreneurs, not just in one market but around the world. Using this insight, we work with members across the world to develop new solutions.

Influence

Generating and leveraging evidence

As a global network we are perfectly positioned to be a leading authority in youth entrepreneurship and address the lack of robust evidence on youth entrepreneurship. We work with our members to collect evidence and use the learnings to drive the changes needed in policy and practice.

Our methodology

Our members around the world provide young entrepreneurs with an integrated package of financial and non-financial support to help them as business leaders and to start and grow sustainable businesses.

Entrepreneurship training

YBI members work with young entrepreneurs to equip them with the soft and hard skills and tools they need for their business to thrive.

Mentoring

In times of change, transition, uncertainty and challenges, mentoring has become a much sought-after resource for young entrepreneurs and business owners. Our members pair young entrepreneurs with an experienced volunteer business mentor to guide them through the challenging early stages of establishing a business.

Access to finance

YBI members may provide young entrepreneurs with an interest-free/low interest loan to cover the expenses of starting or growing their business or connect them with financiers who can provide appropriate financial products and services.

Other business development support

From specific training in business practice to basic assistance with things like bookkeeping and financial management for young entrepreneurs.

Digitalise

YBI members use a variety of digital tools to enable the delivery of their work, they develop skills in designing and delivering training digitally and they work with YEs to grow their knowledge and skills in using digital tools and approaches to run their businesses.

Our strategy

Our vision is that every young person, whatever their circumstances, is supported to turn their great idea into a successful business and that youth entrepreneurship is recognised for driving sustainable economic development around the world, creating jobs and strengthening communities.

Our global strategy is deliberately ambitious in response to the unacceptably high rate of global youth unemployment.

When young people become entrepreneurs, they unlock income generation, job creation and economic growth. Yet for too many young people, starting a business feels out of reach, exclusive and unavailable to them. Our efforts are focused on disadvantaged young people, equipping them to build the skills, confidence and connections they need to beat the odds and become successful business owners.

Our stretch goal: between 2017 and 2025 YBI will help one million young entrepreneurs start, strengthen and grow sustainable businesses.

To achieve this, we will focus on four strategic pillars:

Lead the sector as an authority on effective, inclusive youth entrepreneurship services.
Promote green and social businesses, as a contribution to a sustainable and equitable world.
Drive innovation and digital transformation of youth entrepreneurship services
Deliver services through a high-quality impactful network of entrepreneurship support organisations