Young people are increasingly vulnerable to higher unemployment, poorer quality jobs for those who do find work, greater labour market inequalities, longer and more insecure school-to-work transitions, and an increased mismatch between their skills and labour market needs.
Creating large numbers of decent jobs for young people is critical for achieving overall development objectives. Globally, 600 million jobs will be needed over the next 15 years to absorb the current number of unemployed and provide job opportunities to the approximately 40 million labour market entrants – mostly young people – each year.
Helping young people transform their creative ideas into successful business plans by removing the barriers to entrepreneurship has many potential benefits, including direct and indirect job creation and the development of human capital and new skills.
Entrepreneurship, however, is only one part of helping young people achieve financial independence. A more sustainable approach is to include young people in existing value chains and export sectors in the process of strengthening them.
Value chains and export sectors that are inclusive can be a source of new opportunities for young entrepreneurs. Integration to value chains and international markets can have a role in ensuring the long-term success of SMEs which can lead to positive spill overs like new jobs, ideally for other young people, given the fact that in developing countries, the greatest potential for job creation lies in the local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Young entrepreneurs face a broad range of obstacles that limit their capacity to join value chains and benefit from international trade. Youth-specific barriers can include power dynamics and social networks based on age, gender and ethnicity; lack of access to assets and finance; low education and skill levels; and administrative and regulatory frameworks that do not favour young people.
Policy and business environment: Entrepreneurial start-ups and activities are heavily impacted by a country’s institutional and regulatory environment.
Trade and Investment Support Institutions: Young entrepreneurs are not the usual clients of TISIs and receive limited tailored services and support from them.
Skills and resources: The specific challenges young entrepreneurs encounter in the policy, institutional and business landscape is further compounded by individual circumstances, ranging from limitations in knowledge, skills, experience, and resources.
Buyers and investors: The limited information about youth-owned SMEs and their competence makes it less attractive for market players to feature youth in their activities. Investors tend to be uncertain about profitability and risk of youth-owned SMEs. Buyers face a gap in assessing the value proposition of youth-owned SMEs and the benefits of working with them.