Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme

General Information

Institution:

Ministry of Education, Youth Affairs and Sport

Country:

Barbados

Contact person:

Victor Felix

Position:

Assistant Chief Labour Officer

Phone:

(246) 310-1504

Website of the program:

http://www.cbsc.org/

Which of the following topic(s) applies to the program?:

Topics:

EMPLOYMENT

Youth employment

Program Description

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Description:

The Youth Entrepreneurship Scheme (YES) programme seeks to foster an entrepreneurial climate while empowering youth to create successful business ventures that contribute to the development of the nation. YES seeks to achieve this mandate by offering business development services to young persons between the ages of 18 and 30 years in the establishment and management of sustainable business enterprises.
Services offered include:
• Business Counselling
• Entrepreneurial Development Training
• Accounting Service
• Marketing Service
• Mentorship
• Technical Assistance
• Referral for financing

Objectives:

1. To increase the number of businesses owned by young persons that are started and successfully sustained.

2. To provide a network of affordable support for these businesses in the areas of:
• Basic business management
• Financial and accounting management
• Production management
• Quality assurance
• Customer service
• Business communications

3. To provide access to traditional and non-traditional financing for start-up business ventures and for business expansions.

4. To increase the number of young persons who view self-employment as both a feasible and sustainable option for future career development.

Year of Start:

Before 2010

Estimated duration:

Undefined

Geographic coverage:

National

Target population:

Young boys

Evaluation and Documentation

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Describe the program's most important achievements and lessons learned:

Achievements
• Provided business management training to approximately one hundred (100) young persons on an annual basis.
• Assisted with the development of two hundred new businesses over the lifespan of the program.
• Established an entrepreneurial education program for the Primary and Secondary schools of Barbados.
• Conceptualised, designed and published the YES! Magazine to promote and assist in the development.

Specify if the program has any internal and external evaluations, if applicable, include key findings: