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Thirteen years ago, a significant number of bright future students face personal challenges such as teenage pregnancies, school dropouts, few CSEC subjects, and an uncertain future. was observed.
Our job as teachers is to go beyond the subject and find the negative trends that can hinder the growth of our students while nurturing their potential. That means extra time and effort to address barriers, unpack emotional and psychosocial baggage, and expand access to opportunities.
Vulnerable young people who are marginalized from the mainstream need special care to make sure they get on with life, even when opportunities appear to be increasing and widely available. Vulnerability is especially toxic when young people lack a sense of self and direction. This was the foundation on which the social enterprise Young Women of Purpose/Young Men of Purpose (YWOP/YMOP) was established to build the resilience of young people through mentoring and guidance in careers, including entrepreneurship. .
Global research confirms that entrepreneurship can reduce poverty. A 2020 study found that “positive and significant differences between entrepreneurship and poverty alleviation, as measured by changes in the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Index in 104 counties surveyed over a 12-year period. relationship was found. The study further found that entrepreneurship can be boosted with the help of facilitators such as governments, incubators and financial institutions.
The correlation between entrepreneurship and poverty reduction is documented in Jamaica’s National Poverty Reduction Strategy. The strategy identifies livelihood creation and income security as key thematic areas, with the goal of “strengthening income security for the poor and vulnerable”.
Youth entrepreneurship can be an option for coping with unemployment, especially for the unemployed and those with disabilities. According to the Jamaica Bureau of Statistics, the youth unemployment rate in Jamaica in 2021 is 26.11%, an increase of 0.6% compared to 2020.
To successfully tackle this labor shortage, vulnerable young people need to be empowered to discover their strengths and passions while building resilience against negative forces.
While many people have a natural affinity for doing business, many others need mentorship, resources, and the removal of hurdles to getting involved.
Lack of skills and know-how to run a business remains a major barrier. Many young people want to start their own business but have never been trained and are unsure about the first steps to get started.
Those running a business also need training to formalize their processes and prepare them to scale their business.
Indeed, barriers are being gradually removed. The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) policy has been updated to eliminate the minimum business tax and raise the general excise tax threshold to his $10 million. Governments continue to recognize the importance of youth entrepreneurship. In a presentation at the National Business Models Competition in March 2019, Finance Minister Nigel Clark encouraged Jamaican youth, especially those who graduated from higher education institutions, to start their own businesses. “Jamaica cannot achieve its potential unless people venture, take risks, start businesses, provide services, hire people, grow and thrive,” he said. (JIS, March 25, 2019).
However, the barriers to entry into entrepreneurship are still very high for many potential entrepreneurs across the country.
For example, many young people did not have the funds they needed to start a business. To take a step forward, you need a special financing system. We need business coaches who volunteer their time and effort to guide us. Many entrepreneurs have never sat down or talked to successful entrepreneurs they admired for business tips and guidance. Starting a business is like raising a child. Until the weaning period, many hands must be held and teething pains must be experienced.
The private sector, public sector and social enterprises must join forces to address these gaps. Social enterprises can scale up their proven youth mentorship offerings by creating innovative fundraising tools supported through public-private partnerships.
It takes a collective effort to build the right ecosystem to support and foster youth entrepreneurship across Jamaica. Several organizations are already doing their part towards building this ecosystem. YWOP/YWOP does so through its REAP (Realise, Embrace, Achieve your Purpose) program which provides entrepreneurship and business management training, business coaching and mentoring, and seed funding. Through these programs and support, we have witnessed changes in the lives of young entrepreneurs and their families.
Fully convinced that resilient youth can help reduce poverty and build a safer and more secure Jamaica, the United Nations Development Programme’s Youth Summit on Crime and Violence 2021 announced UNDP’s ‘Ready Set Great’ development Staged under the series 2021 Youth, 14- highlights a call to action to strengthen an inclusive and resilient future for young people.
We reiterate these calls and urge all stakeholders to mobilize disadvantaged youth into Jamaica’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. This will require working from scratch. Deputies were asked to:
1. Strengthen the promotion of youth entrepreneurship as a viable career option and strengthen youth entrepreneurship education in school curricula and associated clubs and societies.
2. Contribute to the expansion of business incubator hubs and support existing hubs for young entrepreneurs providing mentorship and support services for business establishment and market entry.
3. Engage at-risk youth in fostering entrepreneurial ideas by establishing business creation hubs that address community issues with viable business and social enterprise solutions.
4. Also contribute to strengthening and expanding cooperation between private and public training programs for at-risk youth, emphasizing marketable skills, entrepreneurship and social skills.
Together, we can create the Jamaica we dream of. There, everyone will be given full power to advance on a level playing field and collectively achieve the goals of Vision 2030.
Lanishia Rhoden is the Founder and Executive Director of Young Women/Men of Purpose (YWOP/YMOP). Please send your feedback to Lanisia.rhoden@ywop.org. This article is part of a series written by the youth partner of her UNDP annual ‘Ready Set Great’ youth showcase in development. For more information, please visit www.readysetgreaten.com.
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