The Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) Initiative provides a comprehensive range of services to support young entrepreneurs on their journey. Through partnerships with various stakeholders, YEIB mobilizes capital and coordinates financial and non-financial services for youth-led businesses in a sustainable and scalable manner. As a dedicated institution for youth, YEIB aims to unlock financial access, market opportunities, and development services for targeted entrepreneurs.
In Africa, prioritizing and nurturing youth entrepreneurship is crucial. The continent faces high rates of youth unemployment. Therefore, empowering young people to become entrepreneurs can create job opportunities and drive economic growth. This not only helps to address unemployment, but also allows the youth to take charge of their future and play a role in their country’s development.
One of YEIB’s the main goals is to strengthen service delivery to entrepreneurial ecosystems and promote private-sector-led inclusive economic development by creating opportunities for young people. By working at the intersection of public and private approaches, YEIB assists countries in establishing or transforming financial institutions to address market failures that hinder entrepreneurship. These efforts have short, medium, and long-term objectives. YEIB has three key components:
The YEIB in Liberia is projected to assist over 30,000 youth-led businesses in the next 17 years and create 120,000 direct and indirect jobs. In addition, it is estimated to unlock approximately US$500 million in additional lending. YEIB will lay the foundations for a financial ecosystem for youth entrepreneurship in Liberia, where none currently exists, setting the stage for future profitable investments.
| Indicator | Impact |
|---|---|
| SDG Alignment | Positive impact on SDGs 2, 8, 9, and 12. |
| Job Creation | More productive, wealth-generating, and job-creating youth-led businesses in countries with an established YEIB. |
| Business Environment | Improved business environment for youth-led businesses |
| Partnerships for Development | Local, regional, and international partnerships established for the development of an ecosystem focused on providing comprehensive financial, mentoring, and other business development services targeting youth-led businesses throughout their life cycle. |
| Competitiveness | Improved competitiveness and sustainability of youth-led businesses, through improved goods and service quality and standards, technical knowledge and management skills transfer, and capital injection. |
| Access to New Market | Increased access to new markets (regionally and globally) for youth-led businesses. |