The Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP)

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The Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) was a major initiative that addressed youth unemployment by expanding and strengthening support services for vulnerable youth across 10 countries Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).
What are the main aims and objectives?

The central goal of YEP was to address youth unemployment in LAC. Its core objectives were threefold: First, to provide direct support to underserved youth aged 18-35 across ten countries in the region to help them fulfill their entrepreneurial potential. Second, to strengthen the capacity of local entrepreneurship support organizations to deliver quality services to underserved youth. Third, to build and share knowledge on best practices for youth entrepreneurship through a vibrant regional community of practice. The program sought to increase the number of low-income youth successfully starting and sustaining businesses, create new jobs, and make a long-term contribution to fighting youth unemployment by strengthening the entrepreneurship support ecosystem across the region.

How does the program work?

Overall, the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) worked through a multi-faceted approach to address youth unemployment in Latin America and the Caribbean:

  • Direct Support: YEP provided direct support to underserved youth aged 18-35 across 10 countries in the region. This included entrepreneurship and life skills training, business counseling, technical advisory services, mentoring, and in some cases, access to finance through seed grants or loans.
  • Capacity Building: The program strengthened the capacity of 10 local entrepreneurship support organizations to deliver quality services to youth. YBI provided training and support to improve core services like entrepreneurship training, mentoring programs, monitoring and evaluation, communications, and data management systems.
  • Knowledge Building: YEP created over 30 knowledge products on various aspects of entrepreneurship programming and facilitated learning exchanges through regional summits, masterclasses, and online platforms.
  • Digital Acceleration: In partnership with Accenture and IDB, YBI developed a Digital Accelerator program to help organizations innovate their service delivery and enhance internal operations through digital solutions.
  • Networking: The program created a regional community of practice among member organizations, facilitating ongoing collaboration and knowledge sharing through an Online Community platform and WhatsApp group.
  • Innovation Support: YEP organized an Innovation Challenge to incentivize and support new approaches, providing expert consultancy on structuring innovation processes.
  • Partnerships: The program worked with 10 local organizations across 10 countries, leveraging their local expertise and networks to implement the program effectively.

Country specific examples:

Manqu’a (Bolivia)

The Manq'a project was supported through the Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) and aims to address social and economic injustice through gastronomy. It operates cooking schools that train unemployed youth to become chefs specializing in cooking with traditional ingredients.

By training youth in culinary skills using local ingredients, the project boosts market demand for local farm products, promotes healthy eating habits, and builds valuable skills among young people. Through YEP, Manq'a expanded its program to incorporate entrepreneurship training and advisory services, enhancing the employability and business potential of its students.

The project has an innovative business model that generates revenue through various channels, including a restaurant, catering services, and culinary tourism. This approach not only provides practical experience for students but also contributes to the sustainability of the program. Manq'a's success and innovative model have led it to explore becoming a social franchise, potentially expanding its impact to other areas.

Manq'a exemplifies the YEP program's focus on integrated services and innovative approaches to youth entrepreneurship. By combining culinary training with entrepreneurship skills and leveraging local culture and resources, Manq'a creates opportunities for young people while also contributing to local economic development and cultural preservation.

Perspektiva (Peru)

The collaboration between YEP and Perspektiva aimed to transfer Perspektiva's well-established methodology for supporting disadvantaged entrepreneurs to other institutions in order to scale and sustain its impact.

Perspektiva had been a leader in entrepreneurship support for disadvantaged populations in Peru for over two decades. Through YEP, they sought to systematize their methodology and transfer it to tertiary educational institutions and municipal economic development agencies. This approach allowed Perspektiva to expand their reach and impact beyond what they could achieve directly.

The Perspektiva methodology begins with an assessment of an individual's entrepreneurial mindset. It then provides a series of training courses, followed by personalized technical assistance from advisors who work on-site with local businesses. Financial support is also offered in the form of cash grants awarded through business plan competitions.

By transferring this proven methodology to other institutions, Perspektiva aimed to create a multiplier effect, enabling many more disadvantaged youth across Peru to access high-quality entrepreneurship support. This approach aligned with YEP's overall goals of strengthening the entrepreneurship support ecosystem and scaling effective interventions to reach more underserved youth.

What is the overall cost?

There is no available information about the cost of running YEP. 

How was it implemented?

The Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) was created as a partnership between Youth Business International (YBI) and the Inter-American Development Bank's innovation laboratory, IDB Lab. YEP was launched in October 2013 and ran for six years until 2019.

To implement YEP, YBI worked with 10 local partner organizations across 10 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: 

  • Aliança Empreendedora in Brazil
  • Manq'a in Bolivia
  • Acción Emprendedora in Chile
  • Confecámaras in Colombia
  • Yo Quiero Yo Puedo in Mexico
  • Fundación Paraguaya in Paraguay
  • Perspektiva in Peru
  • Barbados Youth Business Trust
  • Jamaica Youth Business Trust
  • Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago

These organizations received grants and support to develop and deliver entrepreneurship services for underserved young people aged 18-35 in their respective countries. 

YEP evolved over time to keep up with the changing digital landscape. It incorporated initiatives like a Digital Accelerator program to help organizations innovate their service delivery and enhance internal operations through digital solutions. The program also created a vibrant regional community of practice among member organizations to facilitate ongoing collaboration and knowledge sharing.

What impact has been measured?

The Youth Entrepreneurship Programme (YEP) impact report found significant achievements across multiple areas:

Impact on young entrepreneurs:

  • 64,000 youth were trained with entrepreneurship skills
  • Over 20,000 youth-led businesses were created or strengthened
  • Over 13,000 new jobs were created
  • 86% of supported businesses had increased sales one year after receiving support
  • The program reached underserved youth aged 18-35, with 64% of beneficiaries being women

Impact on local entrepreneurship support organizations:

  • All 10 participating organizations reported increased capacity to provide quality services to youth
  • Organizations evolved their entrepreneurship training services and established or improved mentoring services
  • Most organizations implemented new organizational management systems
  • Organizations improved core capabilities like monitoring, evaluation, learning, and communications
  • Several organizations developed new digital tools and platforms to reach entrepreneurs

Impact on the entrepreneurship ecosystem:

  • Created a vibrant regional community of practice among member organizations
  • Fostered knowledge sharing and collaboration across countries
  • Produced over 30 knowledge products on entrepreneurship programming
  • Research studies informed design and delivery of entrepreneurship support in the region and beyond
  • Enabled cross-sector partnerships to introduce new services and scale existing ones
What lessons can be learned?

Based on the impact report, several key lessons can be learned from the YEP:

  1. Integrated services lead to better outcomes for young entrepreneurs: Providing an integrated package of services, including entrepreneurship training, life skills training, and post-training support like coaching and mentoring, is critical for success. Youth who received additional post-training services showed better business growth and increased confidence.
  2. Capacity building of local organizations should be practical and support sustainability: Capacity building is most effective when it's designed to be applied practically and supported over time. Ongoing expert and peer support is important as organizations adopt new approaches. Continuous learning and improvement is necessary as beneficiary needs and tools evolve.
  3. Fostering a vibrant network is key for success: Building a strong community of practitioners across countries who learn from each other was crucial. Regular face-to-face meetings helped build trust and social connections. Virtual tools like WhatsApp groups and online platforms encouraged ongoing sharing and collaboration.
  4. Digital acceleration and innovation is best guided by experts and incentives: Organizations need support to understand their digital maturity and develop clear strategies for digital tools. The program's Digital Accelerator process helped build digital strategies and test solutions. An Innovation Challenge provided both incentives and expert consultancy on structuring innovation processes.
  5. Soft skills are important for young entrepreneurs: The program developed a soft skills curriculum covering areas like interpersonal skills, creative thinking, risk management, and growth mindset, recognizing these are crucial for success in the digital economy.
  6. Partnerships enable innovation and scaling: Cross-sector partnerships allowed organizations to introduce new services and scale existing ones. Some partners were able to work with local governments to expand their reach.
  7. Knowledge sharing and community building have lasting impact: The program's investment in knowledge creation and exchange fostered a regional community of practice that continues beyond the program's end. Research studies have informed entrepreneurship support design in the region and beyond.

CURATED BY

Tom Hancock

Research Associate
Global Entrepreneurship Network
United Kingdom