With an initial injection of approximately $4 to $6 million pumped in by government—Saint Lucia’s widely touted Youth Economy Agency [YEA] finally got off the ground with an official opening ceremony, Monday at its Chaussee Road location.
After much consultations and deliberations, the YEA initiative was launched in March, and the agency’s formal opening was planned to coincide with the advent of Youth Month in Saint Lucia
Conceptualized by Prime Minister Phillip J Pierre, the objective of this programme is to cater for young entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 35 by providing them with assistance to help bolster their economic fortunes. YEA has also been launched as Commonwealth member countries mark 2023 as the Year of Youth, dedicated to youth-led action for sustainable and inclusive development.
“I know that young people have different needs and the needs that sometimes makes them not so very easy to deal with …but I know that if you can tap (into) the young people’s interest, you will hope to succeed,” said PM Pierre.
He remains optimistic that if young people are afforded an environment to flourish, they can grow to develop sustainable livelihoods to the fullest.
“I believe you can give them space, give them time and they will make mistakes …but the mistakes they make can never be fatal. They can always come back and I want to encourage them,” the prime minister added.
Pierre underlined the importance of the YEA staffers’ job “to facilitate, to assist and sometimes to accept what you would not normally accept. We have to be patient, you will find people who are going to be difficult and we have to be patient”.
The Castries East MP added, “We have to be people-friendly, we have to be youth-friendly and if we do that, we are going to survive, we must survive.
“The government, in this budget …will be investing about $4 to $6 million, this year. But with the interest that is being shown, I’m sure that other agencies will come in, like the Taiwanese …and other countries will come in and invest in our agency,” Pierre said.
The event also included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Taiwanese and Saint Lucian authorities, which is geared to facilitate better training for potential business owners. Head of the Taiwan Technical Mission in Saint Lucia, Daniel Yi-Long and YEA’s Chair, Peter Leonce signed the document.
So far, at least 12 young persons have secured grants since the programme was launched.
“We expect that the various interventions of YEA in the coming weeks, months and years will also lead to the formation of an eco-system of young entrepreneurs procuring goods and services from each other, as well as, (from) the international and global economy,” declared Leonce.
According to a YEA spokesperson, the agency aims to carve out a unique space in the general economic system for youth entrepreneurship and business growth by providing state resources to young people to create sustainable livelihoods through business development finance and marketing support, and training and mentorship. It is anticipated that the offices of the agency, featuring art by St Mary’s College Art Troupe, will serve as a hub for training and an incubator for emerging businesses.
The initiative, established by the Youth Economy Act No. 17 of 2022, provides young people with a special economic space to turn hobbies into entrepreneurship and skills into businesses.
In addition to providing access to grants, loans, training and business development, YEA also offers scholarships through the Commonwealth Secretariat to participate in the Digital Skills Training Programme. The pilot programme will involve up to 200 young people receiving certification through Simplilearn in an array of areas such as software development, cyber security, artificial intelligence and machine learning, cloud computing and blockchain.
Added Leonce : “YEA is already up to a roaring start having already issued 11 grants , assessed an addition 60 applicants for various levels of engagement as it relates to the grants component and based on how advanced their ideas are or the specific nature of the enterprise as it is articulated.”
He said there is also about 50 applications “for loans in the system, so quite a bit of interest and traction already, so our work is cut out for us.”