Business Loans for Youth Entrepreneurs

Business Loans for Youth Entrepreneurs – YES project to provide micro lending services for backyard industries, promote livelihood training.

The government said it has initiated a micro lending program aimed at boosting youth entrepreneurship through countryside industries. The project will be in cooperation with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), which will provide capital funding under its Youth Entrepreneurship Support Project (YES), ranging from P5,000 for individuals to P100,000 for groups.

The YES Project aims to empower the youth through entrepreneurial skills development. This is envisioned to bring about their capability to actively participate in their communities, by creating viable and sustainable livelihood opportunities for the youth thus reducing youth unemployment.

The DTI will then provide the training, create the supply chain for the raw and intermediate materials, product development and the industry buyers.

Priority projects and business ventures are bamboo and bayong production because these already have ready markets. Itwill be piloted in areas that already have the 50 initial participants. The Department of Trade and Industry and Department of Labor and Employment recently inked an agreement with the Philippine Council of Students in Intrapreneurship (PCSI) for joint implementation of livelihood projects for the youth.

The project was spawned as part of an existing program of the DOLE, the Youth Entrepreneurship Support Project (YES), which aims to equip the youth with the necessary skills to go into business.

The initiative is part of the Comprehensive Livelihood Emergency Employment Program (CLEEP), which includes the production of bayong and school tables and chairs out of bamboo. The DTI-Regional Operations Group, is now focused on promoting and developing micro, small and medium scale enterprises to help those that were displaced because of the economic crisis.

Under the MOA that was signed, DOLE will be the lead agency and will be responsible for the provision of funds for the projects to be undertaken by the youth participants. DOLE will also oversee the project implementation.

DTI is tasked to provide technical assistance in developing the entrepreneurial skills of the youth beneficiaries. The technical assistance comes in the form of business consultancy, provision of trainors for skill and entrepreneurial trainings, product development and marketing assistance.

PCSI is tasked to facilitate the identification, screening and organization of youth beneficiaries. And business projects to be undertaken by the youth beneficiaries must be mutually agreed upon by all parties.

Source: www.entrepreneur.com.ph