Russia – The Vladikavkaz Institute of Management (VIM), a CIPE partner, on April 28 awarded certificates to 19 students who completed a six-week course designed to give local youth the skills needed to launch a business and fully participate in local democratic institutions. As part of the certificate program, students drafted business plans for business start-ups, the most viable of which will be presented by VIM to the regional economic development authority for possible funding. The start-up ideas range from launching a kindergarten to opening a soccer training facility. The students, ranging in age from 18 to 24, are the fifth group to complete the youth entrepreneurship training program funded under a grant from the National Endowment for Democracy.

Turkmenistan – On April 14-15, 2012, the Union of Economists (UoE) organized a two-day youth entrepreneurship workshop in which 17 youth from Akhal velayat secondary schools participated. On April 21-22, 2012, UOE held another two-day workshop youth entrepreneurship workshop for 24 participants of secondary schools in Ashgabat. Topics of the workshops included identifying features of successful entrepreneurs, personal finance techniques, competitive advantages, and guidelines writing business plans.

Lebanon – On April 25, CIPE partner the Development for People and Nature Association (DPNA) hosted an event to announce the winners of its Business Plan Competition, part of its “Fostering Free Enterprise in Youth” project. First place was awarded to Jad Ali Selmen for his plan to develop a soccer complex for youth in his hometown of Aadloun, South Lebanon. Second place was awarded to Mark Nassar for his plan to produce glow-in-the-dark products marketed towards teenagers, such as tee-shirts. The event also included a presentation by DPNA Project Manager Rami Shamma regarding the importance of integrating the concepts of civic education and entrepreneurship into the Lebanese high school curriculum. The event, attended by 150 students and teachers, was held at the College Notre Dame des Soeurs Salvatoriennes in Abra, South Lebanon.

Yemen – CIPE partner the Youth Leadership Development Foundation and the Marib Dam Foundation concluded their six-month Entrepreneurship and Leadership training in Sana’a and Marib governorates on April 29. The course provided technical training and entrepreneurship education for 25 young people from the two governorates, focusing on skills necessary to running a business such as management, planning, accounting, and marketing. The program also provided leadership and civic education training and covered topics such as leadership skills, communication skills, civil society work, and community participation. The training sessions culminated with a business plan competition that allowed participants to apply the skills and knowledge gained in the training. Three winning groups from each governorate will receive a $2000 grant. The event was covered by Saba, Yemen’s official news agency.

Washington, DC – On April 30, CIPE and the National Endowment for Democracy hosted a discussion on “Democracy, Entrepreneurship, and the Inclusion of Youth” featuring Daniel Córdova, president of Instituto Invertir; Arpita Nepal, co-founder of the Samriddhi Foundation; and Miriam Kornblith, Director for Latin America and the Caribbean at NED. Córdova and Nepal shared strikingly similar experiences from Peru and Nepal in engaging youth as citizens through entrepreneurship and leadership training. His Excellency Harold Forsyth, Ambassador of Peru, opened the program. A major theme of the discussion was the need to shape perceptions of young people toward democracy and market economies by helping them find opportunities for themselves and their communities. John Sullivan, Executive Director of CIPE, also took the occasion to recognize Instituto Invertir for winning the 2011 CIPE Leading Practices Contest with its EmprendeAhora training program.

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Inside this issue:

• Young Entrepreneurs Forum of the Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry organizes Young Entrepreneurs Conference 2012
• Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry launches Youth Affairs Committee
• Youth empowerment and entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka
• Organic agriculture in Bangladesh

In her foreword, Anna Marie Periquet states:

“What is most refreshing about celebrating entrepreneurship in the Asia-Pacific region are the young business leaders’ disarmingly unassuming quality who are truly the business innovators by providing programs for young entrepreneurs – seminars and workshops, conventions, training, plant visits, mentoring skills and business matching sessions”

As a testament to this statement, the 10th edition of Entrepreneur Asia-Pacific highlights the achievements and activities of youth oriented organizations in CACCI’s network.  Spanning the region from Pakistan the the Philippines, these organizations are the motivation and inspiration needed to continue entrepreneurial development.

Download Entrepreneur Asia-Pacific here.

Mian Waqas Masud, Director
Fazal Industries (Pvt) Ltd.

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Topics addressed under this year’s competition included corruption, democratic transitions, and economically-sustainable development.  CIPE received essays from over 65 countries including Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Moldova, and Uganda.

The first place essay in the Economically-Sustainable Development category came from one of CIPE’s partner organizations in Nepal, Samriddhi.  Written by Sarita Sapkota, the 1st place essay analyzes the history of development aid in Nepal.  Arguing that development projects funded by outside donors has created “huge machinery that needs a lot of resources to sustain but in effect contributes [a] negligible amount in terms of impact.” Sapkota suggests that Nepal should instead look to the enthusiasm and energy of young Nepalis to create innovative and sustainable models for long term development.

For a complete list of the nine winners and short summary of each article, visit the CIPE Development Blog.  Over the coming months, CIPE will release the winning essays in full text through its Feature Service series of articles which explores themes relevant to CIPE’s mission of building accountable democratic institutions through market-oriented reform. 

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Please join the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) for a luncheon discussion featuring:

Daniel Cordova, Instituto Invertir
Arpita Nepal, Samriddhi, the Prosperity Foundation
Miriam Kornblith, National Endowment for Democracy

with comments by:

Ambassador Harold Forsyth (invited), Embassy of Peru in the United States
John D. Sullivan, Center for International Private Enterprise

RSVP here

Across the world, countries are grappling with challenges of social and economic inclusion as they attempt to build democracies that deliver for all. Despite Peru’s impressive economic performance in recent years and advances in the fight against poverty, a shortage of opportunities for youth in rural areas translates into a lack of support for the current democratic system. Similarly, Nepal is experiencing significant unemployment and unrest among youth, many of whom are unsure of their role in a democracy.

Entrepreneurship and civic education are key access points for youth to participate in the creation of democratic societies. As young people learn the values and skills of self-initiative and citizenship, they discover new opportunities for themselves and begin to assume leadership roles in their communities. The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) has fostered youth leadership programs in Peru and Nepal that are now bearing fruit in youth enterprises, volunteer initiatives, and changed mindsets.

In his presentation, Daniel Cordova will share lessons from the EmprendeAhora (Entrepreneurship Now) program in Peru. Winner of the CIPE 2011 leading practices contest, EmprendeAhora is a program training talented university students from all over Peru in leadership, democracy, market economics and business plans. Arpita Nepal will speak on Arthalaya, an entrepreneurship program in Nepal teaching university students the value of entrepreneurship, democratic governance, and leadership. Miriam Kornblith will comment on the presentations and provide a broader perspective on how youth empowerment and economic inclusion relate to democracy.

About the Speakers:

Daniel Cordova is President of Instituto Invertir and past Dean of the Business School at Universidad del Pacífico. He has a doctorate in International Economics from Grenoble University (France) and a BA in Economics from the Universidad del Pacífico (Lima). Formerly the CEO of the Sociedad Comercio Exterior del Perú (Peruvian Foreign Commerce Society) (Comexperú), Founding President of the Asociación para el Desarrollo del Mercado de Capitales (Association for the Development of the Peruvian Capital Market) (Procapitales), CFO of the Milpo mining company, Chairman of the board of Banco de Comercio and Dean of the School of Economics for the Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas (UPC). Among his recent publications are the articles “Amid Hopelessness, Hopeful Investment: The Case of the Añaños Family and Kola Real” and “Defeating Poverty Doing Business: The Case of the Flores Family and Topy Top” in Lessons From the Poor: Triumph of the Entrepreneurial Spirit, edited by Alvaro Vargas Llosa (The Independent Institute, 2008). Dr. Córdova is a columnist for El Comercio (the most distributed and important newspaper in Peru) and for the Gestión (the most important financial newspaper in Peru). He has also been a fellow of the Eisenhower Foundation in 2003 and is a member of the Mont Pelerin Society since 2007.

Arpita Nepal is an associate of Samriddhi, The Prosperity Foundation, a think tank that envisions the creation of a free and prosperous Nepal. She is one of the founders of the think tank and later worked as a Manager for the past 3 years. During her time, she designed several educational programs on Entrepreneurship and Economics and has been a crucial part of designing one of Samriddhi’s very successful campaigns on the right to earn a living called ‘Campaign for a Livable Nepal’. After having initiated a think tank and worked in the industry, she is now working on enhancing her economic policy analysis skills as a graduate student in the Department of Economics at George Mason University.

Miriam Kornblith is the director for Latin America and the Caribbean programs at the National Endowment for Democracy.

Lunch will be served from 12:00 to 12:30 PM
Please RSVP by Noon, Thursday, April 26.

RSVP here

Kim Bettcher
CIPE

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Some interesting facts from the survey:

• Nigerian entrepreneurs are largely motivated by a desire to be independent (32 percent) or to make a difference (28 percent).
• Contacts with other entrepreneurs form the single greatest source of individual desire to become an entrepreneur (30 percent).
• In the survey, 74 percent of respondents became entrepreneurs out of choice, 23 percent out of necessity, and 3 percent are following family tradition.
• Views of state governments’ performance are higher than views of national government performance. 73 percent reported that state government is doing a good job versus 63 percent reporting that national government is doing a good job.
• Nationally, the most cited factor needed to achieve future growth is to clean up corruption (45 percent).

Note that the survey sample includes a mix of entrepreneurs, aspiring entrepreneurs, and a few senior managers.

Kim Bettcher
CIPE

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Professor Daniel J. Isenberg at Babson College has nicely summarized the elements of an entrepreneurship ecosystem and the ways they play into a strategy to promote entrepreneurship. See his article “The Big Idea: How to Start an Entrepreneurial Revolution” in the Harvard Business Review (June 2010).

Because an ecosystem has many interrelated elements, Isenberg recommends an integrated approach to nurturing entrepreneurship instead of a one-dimensional solution. He tells policymakers to stop focusing on the Silicon Valley model—a product of special circumstances—and to look farther afield at countries such as Chile, Israel, and Rwanda. The countries that have successfully made the leap to entrepreneurial economies have taken advantage of their own local features. Isenberg wisely cautions against artificial attempts to design entrepreneurial clusters.

Isenberg also recommends letting markets work. Flooding start-ups with money and sheltering them in incubators can be counterproductive. Part of letting markets work is removing the administrative barriers. While Isenberg notes that legal and regulatory frameworks are “critical,” he leaves them to last on his list. I would move them near the top since these frameworks remain abysmal in many developing countries, where corruption often undermines reforms on paper.

All in all, this short article is well worth reading to get a handle on entrepreneurship ecosystems.

Kim Bettcher
CIPE

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Peru – At the conclusion of EmprendeAhora 2012, Instituto Invertir selected the winner of its democracy video contest. The contest gave participants in the EmprendeAhora program a way to demonstrate what they have learned about democracy and explain in their own way the implications of democracy on society. The winners of the contest hailed from Huancayo, in Junin region. Their winning video can be viewed (in Spanish) at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikmL4w80eAY.

Azerbaijan – Working with CIPE training staff, the Entrepreneurship Development Foundation (EDF) is hosting a Youth Leadership and Advocacy Workshop for a group of 13 students and representatives of local NGOs. The purpose of the workshop is to improve the participants’ understanding of the role of youth in civil society and the economic reform process.

During the three day event, participants are learning communication and advocacy techniques which will provide the fundamentals of designing a communication strategy in order to formulate clear, targeted messages, and reach large audiences effectively.

Russia – The Vladikavkaz Institute of Management, a CIPE partner, on March 24 graduated 26 students from a six-week course designed to give local youth the skills needed to launch a business and fully participate in local democratic institutions. The students, ranging in age from 18 to 24, now move on to develop business plans for start-ups, the most viable of which will be eligible for government support. The youth entrepreneurship training program is funded by NED.

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Ukraine – The director of a CIPE partner at the Kyiv-based International Institute of Business (IIB), Aleksandr Okunev, played a key role in drafting proposed changes to Ukraine’s law governing limited liability companies. The changes, adopted February 27 by the Ukrainian government’s Cabinet of Ministers, are now being forwarded to parliament for consideration. The amendments would eliminate inconsistencies in existing legislation on limited liability companies. In partnership with CIPE, IIB is implementing a NED-funded project to develop a voluntary code of corporate governance for family-owned businesses.

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This article is part of a series of interviews with participants of Instituto Invertir’s EmprendeAhora entrepreneurship and leadership training program in Peru. Read the introduction to the series and Part 1.

In order to promote the EmprendeAhora program and encourage new applicants from throughout Peru, each year CIPE partner Instituto Invertir conducts an extensive promotional campaign in every major regional university. Local teams made up of EmprendeAhora alumni are in charge of distributing materials in their universities and in other youth spaces in their cities (Internet cafes, church, library, etc.). The alumni also give informative talks at universities and speak to the local media. It was through this promotional campaign in the summer of 2010 that Gerson Casas learned about the benefits of EmprendeAhora from Coco D’Azevedo, the 2008 alum profiled in a previous post.

Like Coco, Gerson is from Iquitos, Peru and was drawn to the program for the opportunity to travel to Lima, meet new people, and learn more about being an entrepreneur. After completing the rigorous application process, Gerson was selected to attend EmprendeAhora 2010.

According to Gerson, the EmprendeAhora business plan competition was the most important aspect of the program. As part of the competition, students are divided into groups of three to five from the same city to work together to choose a business idea that could eventually be launched in their region to create employment and economic growth. Students work progressively on the projects throughout the three EmprendeAhora sessions with an assigned coach – a professor from the university or a successful entrepreneur.

Gerson and his three partners came up with the idea for a chocolate company called Chocohuayo featuring chocolates filled with aguaje and camu camu, two fruits native to the Loreto region. They worked with their coach, Margarita Reyes, on their plans for production, marketing, and costs. In Iquitos the group conducted surveys as part of their market research and while in Lima for the sessions the group visited a number of chocolatiers to see what other aspects of the business they should incorporate into their plan. Although Chocohuayo did not win the business plan competition, they were selected as one of ten finalists out of the 40 different business plans.

Jump ahead to January 2012 and I find myself sitting in a small workshop in Iquitos. Unfortunately there are no tasty chocolates to eat; rather, I am surrounded by colorful wooden puppies, airplanes, and race cars. The shop, called Chiki Madera, is Gerson’s wooden toy business. Upon completion of EmprendeAhora, Gerson didn’t need to look very far for a new business opportunity. His father owns a furniture factory and he grew up making small wood carvings with scraps left over from the doors, chairs, and tables that his father was building.

Implementing many of the things he learned during the EmprendeAhora business plan competition, Gerson resourcefully utilized his father’s carpentry tools, shop space, and scrap wood and began crafting and selling wooden toys, a product that none of the other carpenters in Iquitos were producing. His main startup costs were for the paint, varnish, and display cases, making it fairly easy to begin with little capital.

While Gerson is the owner and sole full time employee of Chiki Madera, this past Christmas he contracted two helpers to complete all of the toy orders in time for the holidays. He also receives some help from his mother – a restaurant owner – in creating the toy designs. Gerson admits too that he gets design inspiration from television and even from the construction workers digging up the street in front of his shop. Case in point: his newest design is a backhoe tractor.

Gerson is happy running his own business in Iquitos, serving a local clientele and occasionally traveling to fairs to sell his products. In 2011, Chiki Madera was one of more than 400 exhibitors with a booth at Perú Gift, an international fair specialized in gifts and decoration. Approximately 8,000 national and international visitors attend each year. There he made contacts that could help him reach his goal of exporting his products. Regardless of whether he ultimately exports, he sees his current work as preferable to studying another career or working in a company, the alternatives he envisions had he not attended EmprendeAhora.

Having witnessed the positive stories of Coco and Gerson, and with my mementos from Iquitos in tow – brochures from Coco and a red, white, and blue wooden puppy that I couldn’t resist purchasing from Gerson – I boarded a flight back to Lima for the first session of EmprendeAhora 2012.

Brent Ruth
CIPE

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