About YBC

Who We Are

We are a community of established organisations working with young people who want to establish entrepreneurial businesses in the Caribbean. Since 2012 we have been working  together to strengthen the ecosystem for young entrepreneurs in the Caribbean. Connect with your local member using the navigation tab on the left hand side.

History

Youth Business Caribbean was created as part of  the Youth Entrepreneurship Program for the Eastern Caribbean (YEPEC) Project. YEPEC  was created by Youth Business International and funded by USAID . The project has supported young people to set up their own small businesses by providing business development services and mentoring and facilitating access to finance.

The project has also facilitated the development of local Youth Business Trust’s, building their capacity to deliver services to young entrepreneurs and work together to create a stronger ecosystem for young entrepreneurs in the Caribbean.

Our Purpose

The purpose of the Youth Business Caribbean, as defined by YEPEC is to:

  • To expand access to entrepreneurial support activities for young people throughout the Caribbean; and
  • To develop capabilities of Youth Business Trusts (YBTs) to deliver youth entrepreneurial support activities throughout the Caribbean.

The Youth Business Caribbean Community and its member organisations are:

  • Optimising the number of young people supported to become entrepreneurs,
  • Building awareness of opportunity through youth entrepreneurship,
  • Building the capacity of Youth Business Trusts (YBT) to support young entrepreneurs,
  • Improving the quality of support available to young entrepreneurs,
  • Establishing a virtual Centre of Excellence for youth entrepreneurship development, and
  • Researching, collating and sharing lessons learned to establish best practice across the region.

As at September 2015 the program has launched 98 new businesses, strengthened 20 businesses, created 174 new jobs and provided business start up support for over 1,500 young people.