In the context of the European E-skills Week, the Romanian public witnessed the launch of a new and exciting project targeting the youth – the portal www.e-aptitudini.ro (the Romanian translation of e-skills), which represents a bridge between IT resource providers and young people in need of IT skills in order to obtain a job or start their own business.

In Romania the E-skills campaign was launched in October 2009 by a Consortium comprising Microsoft Romania, Junior Achievement Romania and a number of Romanian NGOs, in response to a study conducted by International Data Corporation. The results of the study showed that five years from now, in Romania, 90% of all jobs in all fields will require applicants to have IT skills.

Continue reading ‘E-skills for Young Entrepreneurs and Job Seekers in Romania’ »

Young people from the Organization of American States (OAS) are invited to submit business plans for the fourth Talent and Innovation Competition of the Americas (TIC), hosted by the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT).  Teams are encouraged to submit proposals in the fields of the environment, tourism, agribusiness, and technology.  Teams may submit proposals until April 1, 2010.  Awards will be given for achievement in the areas of E-Business, Creative Design, Tradition and Culture, and Spirit of Entrepreneurship.  Prizes include funding and internships, as well as promotional and networking opportunities.  Finals will be held in June 2010 in Lima, Peru.

Read more about the competition and register your team at the official website: www.ticamericas.net/index.php?w2p=n3no78v7cd

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The county of Iasi, in North-Eastern Romania, is currently the geographical target for an ambitious project aiming to help the youth find jobs or start a business. The 222,000-euro project “Professional Integration and Youth Entrepreneurship Support in the County of Iasi” started in November 2008 and is scheduled to end in November 2010.

Under the leadership of Unidea-UniCredit Foundation (which is also the funder of the project), several local councils and Iasi County Council have collaborated with local NGOs which work with vulnerable young people. The main objective of the program is to integrate 400 young people into the labor market and also to support 200 young aspiring entrepreneurs, selected among students in the final years of college/high school.

Continue reading ‘Professional Integration and Youth Entrepreneurship Support in the County of Iasi, Romania’ »

The SEVEN Fund is sponsoring a global competition inviting discourse on the morality of profit. Writers are asked to submit essays of up to 3,000 words.   SEVEN will award prizes to the top three essays, with a grand prize of $20,000, a second prize of $10,000, and a third prize of $5,000.  The best pieces will be published in a manuscript, and the program will hold an international conference in 2010. Initial submissions will be accepted through February 28, 2010.

Read more about the competition and the SEVEN Fund at www.sevenfund.org/morality-of-profit

To share an item with the Community of Young Entrepreneurs, send it to partners@cipe.org

We just had great Company Program competitions that showcase youth entrepreneurship and here is an article that was featured in our leading newspapers.

From the Business Daily:

“Bias for Formal Jobs Hampers Growth of Entrepreneurship“

John Wali
Executive Director
Junior Achievement Kenya

To share an item with the Community of Young Entrepreneurs, send it to partners@cipe.org

On February 3, the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ICCI) hosted Final Presentations of the National Business Plan Competition jointly organized by ICCI & the Ministry of Youth Affairs (Government of Pakistan). The motive of this competition is to encourage the youth generation to come up with new interventions and make business proposals that are bankable.

Initially 31 entries were received; they were sent for assessment to 3 different jury members along with the judging criteria. After receiving the results, 10 proposals were picked for live presentations in front of an extended panel of judges: 6 along with the officials of MOY & ICCI.

Continue reading ‘National Business Plan Competition, Pakistan’ »

By providing tools for grassroots youth to develop their own business, Jean-Claude Kamwenubusa is developing economically independent entrepreneurs and catalyzing young people’s energy to build a generation of concerned citizens. He has started to encourage grassroots young people and women to make their lives better through entrepreneurship. As a micro-finance institution can help youth with start-up financial credits, Jean-Claude has long experience in establishing Together New World (TNW) Jeancka Foundation.

Together New World Jeancka Foundation is a global youth and professional network worldwide. TNW Jeancka Foundation is being established in Africa, in Burundi and worldwide since 5th May 1993 through participative methods in multicultural, arts, cultural events, in ICT and in global media youth programs.

Continue reading ‘Burundi Young Entrepreneurs - Together New World Jeancka Foundation’ »

“Why I see entrepreneurship to be strategic for young people is that it involves them in problem solving of a given community. And we need to encourage more and more of this. We want to look at youth as people who contribute to society.”
—James Shikwati, Director of the Inter Region Economic Network

Some of you are already familiar with the CIPE Development Institute, but I’d like to point out the institute’s section on entrepreneurship and innovation. Enjoy video presentations here by experts:

• James Shikwati (Kenya) - “Youth Entrepreneurship: The Force of Positive Change”
• Ruslan Stefanov (Bulgaria) - “Entrepreneurship and Innovation as Engines of Growth”
• Majdi Hassen (Tunisia) - “Barriers to Entrepreneurship”

Continue reading ‘Entrepreneurship and Innovation: Videos and Classroom Resources’ »

The Tashabos course educates high school students in the basics of entrepreneurship. So far, the course has reached 23,000 students in 44 schools in Afghanistan. More than 500 new businesses have been started by students who applied their classroom knowledge.

Muslim, who four years ago was a student at Ansary High School, started his own eyeglass shop.  ”Now you can see many differences and improvements in my business because I learned from Tashabos that a person can start from small beginnings and informed decisions, an individual can build a business that brings benefits to himself, his family, and his society.”

Shabnam, a 19-year-old student at Zinat Kobra High School, opened a beauty shop and also works as a tailor. ”As a trial, I fashioned many styles of clothing, stitched with beads and sent them to my hometown for sale. Sales were terrific and from that day on I have operated two businesses. In search of more customers, my plan is to shift my tailoring work to a shop outside of my home.”

Read more Tashabos success stories. Continue reading ‘High School Classes for Afghan Students Result in New Enterprises’ »

Several years ago I did a simple study with a colleague at Harvard Business School to see if the highly successful entrepreneurs a century ago in the United States were any different from successful entrepreneurs today. One of the more interesting findings of that study was that the backgrounds and motivations of entrepreneurs in the two periods studied were indeed noticeably different. In 1917, entrepreneurs tended to be those who were denied other avenues to success. In 1997, successful entrepreneurs tended to be those who had other avenues open to them, but who were able to take on higher-risk opportunities.

I won’t say that the American experience has direct implications for entrepreneurship in developing countries today, but I do think it is important to keep in mind that entrepreneurs in different circumstances can have contrasting motivations and opportunities. To learn more about famous and forgotten great entrepreneurs of the past, read “The Entrepreneurial Roots of America’s Largest Corporations,” published by the National Commission on Entrepreneurship. Continue reading ‘Historical Paths to Entrepreneurial Success in the US’ »