Facilitating youth business initiatives

One way to foster youth employment is supporting young people in developing their own businesses. EU Member States have agreed on setting up advisory, mentoring and coaching measures to support young people’s innovative and entrepreneurial capacities They have also pledged to devote appropriate funding to help young people establish their companies.

Against this backdrop, the map shows that in the majority of countries measures exist to provide young people with information on business opportunities, with coaching by experts, and with networking occasions with representatives of the business sector. Programmes often offer free counselling to support young people in developing their business plans (for example in Cyprus) and to obtain credit. In some cases, young people have access to “business incubators” where they can set up a trial company with the consultancy of trainers, as in Malta and Poland.

Financial support is also common across countries. Microcredits, low interest loans, and grants are the most frequent channels of funding. In some countries, private actors are encouraged to invest in young start-ups: Germany has established a programme where investors receive tax-exempt venture capital if they keep their stakes for at least three years in new companies established by young entrepreneurs. Sometimes funding is destined to specific target groups in the youth population. Young farmers, young women and young unemployed are prioritised respectively in Slovakia, Serbia, North Macedonia and Norway.