Focus

Programs

Focus

Focusing initially on parts of Southeast Asia, Southern Africa and across the Middle East and North Africa, a wide range of financial opportunities, offered through ImagineNations' partners, will encourage savings and provide access to soft loans, loan-guarantees and fully market-based loans and equity investments. ImagineNations also seeks to create incentives for larger companies to hire young people or to recruit them as interns and apprentices, as well as to spur investments in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to expand and to engage young people in the process. In some cases, new funds or structures may be required, but, wherever possible, the focus is on working through existing infrastructure.

ImagineNations' growing network of partnerships is poised to influence the policy and investment environment in such a way as to provide greater access to large numbers of young entrepreneurs and youth-led enterprises in a range of countries to the capital, business development services and markets they need to start and/or expand micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), which can, in turn, serve as engines of growth and job creation.

ImagineNations is adopting aspects of best practices and establishing national strategies for addressing the youth employment challenge in each of its pilot countries, including the establishment of investment funds and public/private partnerships in each country that will support and sustain their efforts. The global youth investment strategy focuses on a variety of financial opportunities for young entrepreneurs, as well as business training and skills development opportunities, tailored to pilot different programs in each country.

This investment strategy for young adults builds on theprinciples and frameworks developed by the High-Level Panel of the Youth Employment Network (YEN). It is also built on examples of best practices of a variety of countries.

 

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