Five young professionals have secured funding from the Youth in Action programme to establish a non-governmental organisation with a mission to empower young people to set up their own businesses.
43 per cent of Maltese young people would like to set up a business
Founder Euchar Sultana says the organisation, called Young Business Entrepreneurs, will be a platform from which to provide moral and directional support to young people as they foster the necessary business skills to pursue their goals.
“My role as international and EU officer in the National Youth Council of Malta and the interest in entrepreneurship led me to attend the annual meeting of the Local Economic and Employment Development programme within the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in Berlin last March,” Mr Sultana, 23, told The Times Business. “The theme, ‘Partnerships for youths – getting the young into jobs and business for successful working life’ inspired me to be pro-active and develop a platform that will serve the purpose.”
On his return to Malta, Aġenzija Żgħażagħ, the national government youth agency, helped establish the right source of funding and provided guidance on turning the initiative into an NGO.
Mr Sultana explained that a recent study conducted by the Youth on the Move initiative found that 43 per cent of Maltese young people would like to set up a business. The NGO’s objective is to study which sectors aspiring entrepreneurs are interested in most, what is stopping them, and how the organisation can be of use.
Mr Sultana, Jonathan Micallef, Therese Attard, Nicholas Micallef and Jason Bonello, all in their mid-20s and involved in business, engineering and ICT, are busy finalising the formalities, including writing a statute to secure NGO status.
Among a string of initiatives planned is a research pilot project in Gozo to identify the issues holding young people from taking the plunge into the business world. The group believes the research will help fine-tune its mission statement and help it channel its efforts more effectively.
Young Business Entrepreneurs is seeking sponsors and partners with whom it can co-ordinate and organise initiatives like business simulations, business hubs, and workshops where successful business people will share experiences of milestones like success, setbacks, failure, and re-invention. It even hopes to be able to accompany aspiring entrepreneurs on overseas trade missions in search of partners, knowledge exchange, and possibly investors.
Mr Sultana, who studied IT, business and management, and is currently reading for a Master’s in Creativity and Innovation at the Edward de Bono Institute, is leading his team to get the project off the ground as soon as possible.
The group hopes Young Business Entrepreneurs will establish itself as a resourceful platform and networking facilitator to which young people can turn to for support.
“In time, we hope the organisation will possess enough data and resources to become a stakeholder where youth entrepreneurship is concerned,” Mr Sultana added.
“Our mission is to promote measures and mechanisms for youth entrepreneurship, to influence the policy of national institutions, and promote a culture among young people of job creation rather than job seeking.”