About YBA

Our vision is that young entrepreneurs who have a sound business concept and the desire and skills necessary to successfully start their own business can do so, regardless of their economic circumstances.

Youth Business America (YBA) will provide one-on-one volunteer business mentoring and loan capital for young men and women wishing to start their own business but without access to these resources elsewhere. These entrepreneurs are typically between the ages of 18 and 35 and meet specific eligibility requirements established by YBA.

YBA is based on the successful Youth Business Program model operating in 36 countries. Some of these programs have been in operation for over 25 years and are members of Youth Business International (YBI), a London-based network organization. Combined, these programs have created over 90,000 new businesses worldwide.

As an affiliate of the YBI network, YBA has access to systems, methodology, branding and operational support not available elsewhere. Upon completion of its Pilot Program in the San Francisco Bay Area, YBA will seek membership with the YBI organization.

The U.S. provides an optimal climate for building a successful Youth Business Program due to the combination of a commitment to small business and the culture of volunteerism that exists in this country. YBA will grow its organization rapidly to a national scale with an efficient physical presence.

The objective of YBA is to create a program with meaningful impact by forming partnerships for referrals of trained entrepreneurs. These partnerships will combine with microenterprise development and financial literacy training programs that target underserved and economically disadvantaged communities. Volunteer programs will recruit and manage experienced business people searching for opportunities to positively impact their communities.

Leveraging both the partnerships and volunteers, we will develop scalable resources to deliver our program of loan capital plus mentoring. Our plan seeks to create between 3,000 and 5,000 new businesses in the 5-year period culminating in 2014. In addition, we project that there will be 4,000 new volunteers stepping up to support these businesses.

YBA will serve as an important forum for American foundations, universities and corporations that are focusing on issues of youth economic empowerment and microenterprise development. It also will help to deliver training and services to the community of young entrepreneurs in the U.S. and globally through YBI.

Our belief is that the growth of youth enterprise is key to building a stable and peaceful world. Reflecting that belief, YBA also will serve as an advocate and support fund raising for YBI and its work building capacity in Youth Business Programs around the globe. This structure will provide opportunities for the U.S. donor community to support the network of accredited YBI programs in developed and emerging market economies. HRH The Prince of Wales serves as President of YBI.