Youth Entrepreneurship Has the Capacity to Contribute to Economic Growth

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One of the most pressing and challenging issues facing the global community is youth unemployment, particularly in the developing world.

Rates of youth unemployment are the highest across the Middle East and North Africa region, around 30 percent, and close to 17 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the micro and macro consequences loom: stunted economic growth, poverty, migration, crime, and poor health, among many others.

Young people in the developing world are some of the most entrepreneurial, a key booster to economic growth through the introduction of innovative technologies, products, and services.

"With access to money, mentors, and markets youth entrepreneurship has the capacity to contribute to economic growth, catalyze new industries, and  support individuals, families, and communities," says Nicole Goldin, a nonresident senior fellow in the Atlantic Council’s Global Business and Economics Program and director and lead economist, Economic Participation at FHI 360.

Learn more about what youth entrepreneurs need to succeed.