United Nations agencies today launched a new campaign to make it
easier for the 70 million unemployed youth to get financing and
learn new skills to start a business.
The global campaign – launched by the the International Labour
Organization (ILO), the International Trade Centre (ITC) , the UN
Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the UN Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) and the UN Industrial Development
Organization (UNIDO) – will run through August of this year.
It will aim to “effectively enable young entrepreneurs to success
and improve the sustainability and quality of self-employment
opportunities for youth,” according to ILO.
The UN agency added that the main challenges to be addressed
include “the lack of enabling policy and ecosystems, the limited
access to capital, the insufficient tools to enhance skills
development and knowledge transfer.”
The campaign will focus on strategies to promote “an enabling
regulatory environment” for young people, make use of technology
and networks, aim to allow greater access to finance, and provide
greater support for young people.
The UN estimates that while 70 million youth are unemployed, an
additional 150 million work yet live in moderate to extreme
poverty.
Today's launch comes on the first observance of the International
Day for Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises, which seeks
to raise public awareness of these business which generally
employ fewer than 250 people. This year's theme is “youth
entrepreneurship and self-employment.”
The Daywas created in April to observe the Day and raise public
awareness of their contribution to the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, which aims to alleviate poverty and
preserve the people and the planet.
According to the data provided by the International Council for
Small Business (ICSB), formal and informal Micro-, Small and
Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) make up over 90 per cent of all
firms and account on average for up to 70 per cent of total
employment and 50 per cent of GDP.
