Entrepreneurship involves establishing a business or businesses while taking on some financial risk. Entrepreneurship has the potential to provide youth with real employment possibilities and opportunities, especially in sectors such as the digital economy, empowering young people to become job creators in the process. States can promote youth entrepreneurship through dedicated training and capacity-building for youth, which is essential to ensure young people develop the necessary knowledge and skills, as well as by facilitating access to credit or finance on favorable terms for youth.
However, entrepreneurship must always respect labour rights, and a focus on youth entrepreneurship should not come at the expense of wider employment and job creation through broader and robust employment policies in order to avoid shifting much of the responsibility for job creation onto young people.
More in depth…
Small businesses have the potential to produce many jobs, making an important contribution to the countries and societies in which they operate. Establishing a business can also present an opportunity to generate solutions to a problem, including to address social issues and to promote human rights. Driven by creativity, entrepreneurship can lead to significant innovation.
Typically, an entrepreneur identifies and pursues an opportunity, taking on risk by raising funds to finance it, gathers the necessary resources (human, financial, etc.) for the business to function, sets goals, monitors and reviews progress, and takes the necessary steps to ensure success.
If you are interested in establishing your own business, you may want to identify and approach young people who have succeeded as entrepreneurs in order to learn from them. You may also want to explore financing options, for example through a bank or other financial institution, a government venture, or the private sector. Do they provide financial support to young entrepreneurs, and if yes, on what basis or terms? What is the process to gain access to credit, and what are the implications?
Where can I learn more?
To learn and understand more about entrepreneurship, including whether it’s something you would like to pursue, how to go about becoming an entrepreneur, what to consider and what steps to take, have a look at:
- ‘Start Your Business’ manual, published by the International Labour Organization, available in English, French and Spanish.
- The Entrepreneurship Development Training Manual published by DSW, available in English.
- The Entrepreneurship 30 Curriculum Guide published by Saskatchewan Learning, a toolkit for teachers and students, available in English.
Should you decide to start your own business, make sure to think about any ways your business can support or contribute to positive human rights change, and how it will respect human rights.
To learn more about business and human rights, including the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, visit the UN Human Rights Office website at: ohchr.org/business-and-human-rights (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish).