Jóvenes Emprendedores
Project Description
Is a project that seeks to provide the conceptual and practical tools that help youngsters to develop work competencies, in order to increase their opportunities to find a job. The project promotes a comprehensive managerial program that fosters the creation of micro-businesses and promotes a culture of entrepreneurship.
Level: High School
Starting Date of the project: 2010
Previous implementations: Barranquilla
Active regions 2012: Barranquilla
Direct Beneficiaries 2012: 10 schools, 678 students, 46 teachers
Partners 2012: Genesis Foundation, Promigas and Actuar Atlántico
Justification
Including entrepreneurship in the school’s curriculum is important to articulate the academic world with the productive world. It offers the students the opportunity to overcome difficulties in the labor field as well as contributing to their academic and professional development. This will foster the improvement of their abilities, competencies and skills to develop new ideas, set personal goals and achieve them. The project seeks to offer the educational institution the opportunity to achieve new goals in the midst of socio-economic challenges within their contexts and to develop technical and managerial knowledge so that they are capable of developing their own businesses in the future.
Methodology
This is a comprehensive program that seeks to include students, teachers and family in the process of business development. Since students are the main actors of this intervention, 600 students from 9th and 10th grade of 10 public schools in Barranquilla are selected to participate in the project, and follow-up is performed to former students.
Moreover, teachers are trained in labor competencies, entrepreneurship laws, curriculum development and theory and practice. People participate in the process including teachers, directors and academic coordinators of the schools. The work with families is also fundamental since they will actively participate in the creation of their family business and this will benefit them at both social and economic levels. The goal is to work with parents or relatives of the students in the 10 selected schools.
The program consists of two phases:
FIRST PHASE:
- An educational plan is executed in order to raise awareness and stimulate interest towards entrepreneurship
- A formation process in business entrepreneurship is carried out so that students develop the corresponding entrepreneurship competencies, skills, values and attitudes. This formation includes the development of a business mentality. Moreover, it offers the participants the theoretical and practical tools that will allow them to carry out viable and sustainable business initiatives.
- Development of vocational skills.
SECOND PHASE:
- A credit fund is created to support the beneficiaries’ projects. Taking into account the viability of their business plans, some projects will be selected to be financed under a credit system, to allow their ideas to be put into practice.
- There is an initial accompaniment for the formation and functioning of the micro-business, acquisition and installation of equipment, funds allocations, financial expenses, negotiation with providers and in general with the overall financial and managerial processes. This accompaniment allows the entrepreneurial youngsters to assume their role, and provides them with the basic administrative, financial and commercial orientation to start their micro-business.
Annual Cost per Student: USD$292.00
Para información del proyecto en español haga click aquí