Productive work for youth – supporting young entrepreneurs in Armenia

1. Productive work for youth – supporting young entrepreneurs in Armenia And other examples of UNIDO projects for youth Somaya Moll Business, Investment and Technology Services Branch 9 June 2015

2. Youth unemployment at the global level • Globally, over 1.2 billion are young people between the ages of 15-24 • Young women and men represent 17% of the world’s population and over 40% of the global unemployed labor force • Youth, especially young women, continued to be disproportionately affected by unemployment at an average rate of 13% in 2014, compared to an average rate of 4.5% in the adult population. This corresponds to about 74 million young people • Unemployment among youth is one of the reasons that fuel social unrest, while unused potential of women and youth is a great loss to economic growth • The public sector cannot absorb the unemployed • The private sector, where 9 out of every 10 jobs are created, offers the solutionto unemployment • There is a growing mismatch between the skills that young people have andthe jobs offered by markets Source graph: ILO

3. Success stories: Tunisia Social Inclusiveness Economic Competitiveness Context • Started in 2013 in collaboration with USAID, the Government of Italy, and HP • In four vulnerable regions: Kairouan, Kasserine, Le Kef and Sidi Bouzid Project goals • Encouraging youth employment through entrepreneurship and enterprise development • Enhancing the knowledge and delivery capacity of local business support institutions and providing direct support to entrepreneurs and enterprises through technical assistance, training and business coaching Environmental Sustainability Results so far: • “Skills for Industries” – 500 companies survey on skills demand • 740 entrepreneurs trained face-to-face in HP LIFE online in 38 sessions of HP LIFE training (with a 50% women) • 500 students (ISET and universities) trained • More than 8,000 Tunisians trained with the HP LIFE online courses • 16 trainers in 4 regions certified on HP LIFE (50% of private sector / public sector 50%) • 60 trainers from local support structures trained on Greening your business • Digital Entrepreneurship Platform: 8760 users, more than 11600 posts, 59 experts available for counseling   • 37 start-ups being assisted for a total of 558 jobs to be created • 93 enterprises are receiving direct technical assistance, with a total of 1644 jobs to be created Najet Maamouri, 28 years old Najet gained new marketing and managerial skills that gave her confidence to start her own venture in 2011: a call center business in Le Kef which now employs over 20 people and conducts market research for a growing number of French companies. She now seeks to use the HP LIFE global online community to tap into other international markets in Switzerland and Belgium. 3

4. Success stories: Mozambique Social Inclusiveness Context Mozambique has been enjoying impressive growth rates, albeit with heavy reliance on mining. Domestic small and medium-sized enterprises lag behind and require human resources with the capacity to leverage this growth, especially in rural areas where over 60% of the population lives Project goals Encourage the development of entrepreneurial attitudes, skills and knowledge amongst youth, to enable them to generate their own income, create and find jobs, and contribute to the economic growth of the country Economic Competitiveness Results so far: • 331 schools are implementing the Entrepreneurship Curriculum Programme • 1,654 teachers have been trained • 496,400 students have taken the course (47% female) • 127,800 students had graduated by 2013 (45% female) • Youth developed entrepreneurial attitudes, intentions and behaviors, particularly in rural areas. Funded by the Government of Norway, US$ 2,7 million Success Story: “I make fashion inspired by traditional fabrics,” says 19 year old Francisco who just released his first collection.  . “With the help of what I learnt in school, I managed to make a living out of my passion and my talent. I am proud of my business and I like to work. With my profits, I opened an atelier and invest in my studies. I plan already new businesses.” 4

5. Success stories: Armenia Social Inclusiveness Context • Started in March 2013 incollaboration with the Government of Austria, the SME Development National Center (SME DNC) and the Ministry of Economy of Armenia • In Shirak and Lori regions, after pilot phase extended to Tavush and Gegharqunik Project goals • Support youth-led enterprise creation and expansion through the provision of financial and non-financial services • Demonstrate that youth are creditworthy and capable of turning loans into profitable businesses Economic Competitiveness Results so far: • Trainees: 216 trainees, 36% female • Approved loans: 111 loans preliminaryapproved, 30% of which female, for the total amount €675,500 • Repayment: Out of 43 actually funded projects, only two cases of delinquency. • Jobs created: 34 direct jobs already observable at start-up stage of funded projects, more new jobs by the same businesses expected at growth stage • In addition to coaching and counseling on business development issues at startup phase, beneficiaries are also provided with technical assistance, business specific help based on individual needs funded businesses. 5

6. Some of the Armenian project’s beneficiaries LuizaNalbandyan, 25 years old • Luiza applied for the entrepreneurship training with an idea to establish a mass production of salted peanuts. By then she was experimenting with small quantities in her own kitchen for the family and local stores. • After the training and a selection procedure, Luiza’s business plan was approved for funding to buy roasting and packaging equipment for mass production. • The project also helped Luiza’s company with • the development of new promotion strategy, including new labeling and packaging design; • participation in national fairs; • negotiations with several new sales channels and promoting the product under an umbrella brand by one of the leading marketing consultant companies in the country. As a result, not only the product is now in the most popular supermarket chains and series of up-scale hotels, but she could also negotiate significantly higher sales price with stores and wholesalers due to better packaging and labeling.

7. Some of the Armenian project’s beneficiaries HarutyunHakobyan, 32 years old • Harutyun was a young dentist with 6 years of work experience in different clinics of Armenia. He intended to open a dental clinic to service people of town Spitak and nearby villages, who had to drive very far for quality dental services. • He had invested in renovating a building owned by his family to comply with dental clinic requirements and needed additional funding for medical/dental chairs and other necessary equipment. • After fully equipping two cabinets (thanks to the loan), Harutyun could hire another 2 experienced doctors who agreed to go back and work in Spitak. • After less than a year after opening the clinic now has a very solid client base from a number of communities in the region.

8. Some of the Armenian project’s beneficiaries Karen Ghazaryan, 33 years old • Karen Ghazaryan started as a market development manager specialized in the local napkin market and started his own production with only one machine. With time this proved to be a big disadvantage in the market. • Karen’s application for funding was approved, considering his deep knowledge of the market, solid business plan and strong confidence due to management, organizational and financial analysis skills obtained during the training. The loan was used to buy new production lines to introduce wide product mix (from kitchen towels to toilet paper). • Karen rapidly expanded not only into regional, but also national markets. With the new brand, packaging and lower price the product has a competitive edge over exported brands.

9. Thank you! For further information please visit: www.unido.org/ituyouth Or write to ituyouth@unido.org 9