Commonwealth Asia Regional Conference on Investing in Youth Employment

1. Commonwealth Asia Regional Conference on Investing in Youth Employment (22-24 February 2011, Colombo) The CYP Asia Centre in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Skills Development, Government of Sri Lanka

2. Main Objectives: To provide a platform to various stakeholders to discuss regional context, trends, policy commitments and challenges of youth unemployment with a focus on youth entrepreneurship/enterprise development and decide on a slew of practical actions for the promotion of youth enterprise. To explore possibilities for strategic partnership/collaboration with International and National development organizations, banking institutions, corporate sector for youth enterprise development.

3. Specific objectives: To share the findings of the CYP’s regional situational analysis on youth employment with an emphasis on youth enterprise. To showcase practical interventions on youth enterprise/entrepreneurship development, including good practices across the Commonwealth. To share perspectives of financial institutions and corporate sectors on youth entrepreneurship and enterprise development.

4. Expected Outcomes: Create a repository of knowledge on regional youth unemployment trends, policy issues and concerns, including good practice models on youth entrepreneurship/enterprise development. Increase awareness about young people’s bankability to credit. Develop practical action plans for the promotion of youth enterprise/entrepreneurship development interventions. Building strategic partnership/collaboration with relevant stakeholders

5. Key areas of discussion: Review and reassessment of policies and programmes in the member 8 countries by Assessment Report, Country presentations, expert views Focused on establishing strategic partnerships underscoring the roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders in promoting and enhancing youth employment and enterprise Defining and establishing clear regulatory, policy and institutional mechanisms toward promoting and accelerating youth employment and enterprise

6. Situational Analysis on youth employment in the Commonwealth Asia Region CYP’s presentation of the situational analysis on youth employment with emphasis on youth enterprise, carried out through a desk review of secondary data, set the tone of the discussion at the conference. The focus of the CYP assessment was broad, and emphasis was placed on areas related to CYP’s mandate in order to further inform the discussions.

7. Policy and institutional framework – Among other issues, the emphasis was on conducting a review of processes and mechanism with a focus on financial inclusion of the youth, and establishing and implementing clearly thought out entrepreneurship development schemes offering comprehensive and integrated packages of services

8. Access to finance: The consultation called for a need to prioritize easy access, availability of micro finance and other innovative financial support for budding and established entrepreneurs, as well as, sought a larger role of the financial sector to come forward to support youth enterprise development.

9. Education and skill building: The consultation dwelt on a range of discussion areas, including the need for integrating entrepreneurship education in school and college environment, encouraging entrepreneurial thinking and innovation, and comprehensive vocational training programmes.

10. Stakeholders’ participation: The consultation stressed on the importance of forming strategic partnerships with financial and corporate sector on one hand, and educational institutions and community organizations on the other, with the objective of fostering an enabling environment through building and running programmes on advocacy, skill training, capacity building and other business support services to promote youth enterprise.

11. -Creating a knowledge portal for providing access to a variety of information including the labour market, technical and non technical support services and networks for entrepreneurs. -Documentation and dissemination of good practices

12. Recommendations To review and reassess the policy and institutional framework to support young budding entrepreneurs and existing businesses to formulate a national action plan / strategy to foster youth enterprise development Promote a more enabling environment –improve the legal, financial and institutional framework encourage financial institutions to provide collateral free credit and other financial services. Integrate entrepreneurship into the mainstream education system partnerships with stakeholders including financial and corporate sector, chambers of industry and commerce, and other private sector non profit/ support organizations

13. A guiding framework for action Promoting an enabling environment, a culture of entrepreneurship among youth Creating a national level platform in every member country Integrated and coordinated approach to youth enterprise

14. Promoting an enabling environment, a culture of entrepreneurship among youth

15. Promoting an enabling environment, a culture of entrepreneurship among youth

16. Creating a national level platform in every member country

17. Creating a national level platform in every member country

18. Creating a national level platform in every member country

19. Creating a national level platform in every member country

20. Integrated and coordinated approach to youth enterprise

21. THANK YOU!