Young people in rural communities often have limited access to entrepreneurship training, business support and the resources required to translate opportunities into sustainable livelihoods. The challenge was therefore to ensure that young people receiving financial support were also equipped with the knowledge, skills and ongoing guidance required to establish and manage businesses successfully.
IED designed and implemented the Rural Youth Empowerment Programme in partnership with Palms for Life and the Ministry of Local Government and Traditional Affairs, supporting young people participating in the Mr. and Miss RADP Programme. Palms for Life provided seed funding to selected youth to support the establishment of businesses. IED designed and delivered the entrepreneurship programme that equipped beneficiaries with the knowledge and practical skills required to start and manage their businesses. IED’s role extended beyond classroom training. Beneficiaries received mentorship and business support over two years, providing continued assistance as they established and developed their enterprises. The model therefore combined three critical components: seed funding, entrepreneurship training and sustained mentorship.
The initiative reached young people participating in the rural youth empowerment programme associated with the Mr. and Miss RADP Programme. The intervention was designed to create enterprise opportunities for youth in rural communities by combining financial support with practical enterprise-development assistance.
The programme created a pathway from opportunity to enterprise by combining seed funding with entrepreneurship training and sustained mentorship. Beneficiaries were supported to develop the knowledge and practical capabilities required to establish businesses and were subsequently provided with ongoing support as they progressed. The initiative demonstrated that providing young people with capital is more effective when financial support is accompanied by practical business training and continued mentorship.
The experience provides a model that can be replicated in rural economic-development programmes: combining financial support with entrepreneurship training and sustained post-training mentorship. IED can continue to support partners seeking to develop youth enterprise, livelihood and rural economic-development programmes that move beneficiaries beyond training towards actual business creation and growth.