GUIDING FRAMEWORK FOR
COMMONWEALTH ACTION
PLAN FOR YOUTH
ENTERPRISE (CAPYE)
Facilitator: Beth Mwangi
Micro Finance & Enterprise
Development Consultant
IDEAL BUSINESS LINK LTD
Email: beth@idealbiz.co.ke
Introduction
 The Commonwealth Youth Credit
Initiative (CYCI) was launched to
showcase a model project for youth
entrepreneurship
 The main objective of the CYCI is the
creation of employment opportunities
for unemployed young people through
training and credit support.
CYP Experience in enterprise development
 The results from the CYCI have proved
that young people are bankable and
credit-worthy.
 The 2009 Commonwealth Heads of
Government Meeting (CHOGM)
acknowledged the work of CYCI & called
for its enhancement
Guiding framework for
CAPYE
 Overall
purpose of the Guiding
Framework for Commonwealth
Action Plan for Youth Enterprise is
to enhance the participation of
young
people
in
economic
development
Objectives of guiding
framework for CAPYE
 To promote youth enterprise
development as a viable contributor to
economic growth, social development
and political stability
 To provide a young friendly customized
approach for young people to reach their
goals though enterprise development.
Objectives …
To promote integration of programmes,
strategic partnerships and resource
mobilization
for
youth
enterprise
development in order to optimize the
impact of these services for young
people.
 To
document
successful
youth
enterprise practices as a viable
development model.

Preparatory Phase: Prerequisites
to (CAPYE)
 STEP 1: Carry out a baseline survey
to collect relevant data
 Will provide useful benchmarks for
monitoring & evaluation of the
programme implementation



Preparing baseline questionnaire
Identify key stakeholders
Conduct baseline survey
STEP 2: National Consultative Forum on
CAPYE
 Share the baseline survey findings and
recommendations in a national
consultative forum to build consensus
 identify potential partners and forge
strategic partnerships
 Sharing CYCI & other good practices
(ICECD India, YEDF Kenya, Lesotho
Youth Enterprise Development
Programme, etc)
STEP 3: Crafting a National Action Plan
for Youth Enterprise Development
 Action plan should incorporate at least
four pillars




Creating an enabling environment
Skills development
Enhancing resource availability
Providing enterprise support services
STEP 4: Devising advocacy strategy
 Inculcate an entrepreneurial culture early
in life by highlighting the importance of
an entrepreneurial culture for personal
and economic development,
 Present self employment as a career
alternative for young people as a way to
achieve self actualization
 Sensitize all the key stakeholders on
their role in CAPYE
Advocacy strategy
 Lobbying for removal of key constraints
o
o
o
o
Removing financial barriers (to accessing
loan and credit etc)
Market rules Issues of land ownership and
accessMarketing of the products and services of
youth micro enterprises
Ongoing training and technical assistance
Set up an institutional Mechanism &
mobilize resources for pilot CAPYE
 Identify key stakeholders in youth
employment/ enterprise development
 Define roles & responsibilities of key
stakeholders
 Establish a monitoring & evaluation
(M &E) framework
 Lobby national government & other
development / donor agencies for
increased funding
Institutional framework for CAPYE
 Project management unit
 Management Advisory Board to steer
development of the CAPYE
 Implementing agencies / Business
Development Service providers for
financial & non financial services
Responsibilities of PCU
 Development of an operational plan for
CAPYE programme
 Manage and monitor the implementation
of the plan of action
 Provide operational and technical
guidance to the project
 Staff training to enhance capacity for
program delivery
 Provide administrative support
Structure of PCU
 Programme Manager – experienced in
enterprise development & project
management
 Programme coordinator / Liaison person
– strong interpersonal & communication
skills
 An Accountant / fund manager – to
manage the project funds
PCU structure
Secretary / administrator – to coordinate
day to day activities & provide logistical
support to the management team
 Office should be adequately equipped
e.g. computer with adequate software for
MIS purposes
Management Advisory Board (MAB)
 Provide strategic leadership to CAPYE,
 Monitor and evaluate project activities
through review of progress reports, site
visits and commission
 Select the Implementing Agencies /
service providers for CAPYE
 Ensure financial Accountability of project
funds by commissioning periodic audits
 To undertake promotional and advocacy
activities
Structure of MAB
 MAB should be an independent institutional
structure within the CAPYE
 It should be independent and autonomous
 Should advise and make recommendations to
the Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) on project
implementation
Implementing Agencies / BDS
providers
 PCU should not be directly involved in
CAPYE implementation
 A BDS approach should be adopted with
the PCU playing the role of a facilitator
 Institutions with an established track
record in delivery of enterprise support
services should be identified and
selected to deliver the requisite support
services to youth enterprises
Setting up a Monitoring &
Evaluation framework
 Clear performance benchmarks should
be defined at project inception
 CAPYE should require regular reporting
on institutional performance from
implementing agencies
 Funding decisions should be based on
achievement of performance targets.
Implementation of the Pilot phase of
CAPYE
 Development of a pilot plan for CAPYE





Identification of pilot areas context
Setting targets to be achieved within the
pilot phase
Define promotional strategies for
awareness creation
Define the duration of the pilot phase
Mid term & end of project evaluation of the
pilot project
Selection criteria for implementing
agencies for the pilot phase
 Strict selection criteria should be applied
for implementing agencies / service
providers (for delivery of both financial
services & for BDS)
 Capacity assessment should be based
on three key performance indicators
namely: institutional strengths; quality of
service and outreach; and financial
performance

Potential service providers / implementing
agencies for CAPYE
 micro finance institutions;
 NGO’s operating successful micro credit
programs;
 commercial banks with a focus on pro
poor clients;
 private organizations and consultants
offering BDS commercially.
Identification of financial service
providers
 Youth need access to start up
capital or capital for expansion of
their enterprises.
 They also need access to a whole
range of financial services namely:savings products; Funds transfer
and other payments systems; and
Insurance services among others
Identification of BDS providers
 Access
to quality BDS for Youth
enterprises requires the use of various
business development tools





Training – both in business skills and personal
skills development
Access to information
Technology development and transfer including
product development
Access to larger and more profitable markets /
niche markets
Mentoring & business counselling services
Facilitating linkages to support
services
 Linkages with market, technology and
finance will enable youth entrepreneurs
to adopt viable technologies &
 Market their products for business
growth and development.
 This will serve to create additional
employment opportunities’ for other youth.
Selection and formation of youth
groups / cooperatives to function as
administrative Units
 mobilizing the Youth to form common
interest groups (CIGs) or Youth
cooperatives for cost effective delivery of
BDS.
 Design of the Youth administrative units
should be informed by country specific
situations and conscious effort must be
made to build on locally established
networks / institutions
Intensive capacity building / training
program for the selected youth.
 Two different types of training are
therefore required namely:

Personal development skills namely:personal confidence, communication &
public relations, visioning and development
of personal goals / objectives; team
building and conflict resolution.
Business skills – to equip the youth with
the requisite skills to start, manage and
grow their own enterprises
Establishment of new youth enterprises
and expansion of existing youth
enterprises
 Follow up and support function
should be undertaken
 Credit recovery mechanisms are put into
action.
 local support organizations are
sensitized and linkages established with
them for networking.
 Facilitate access to BDS e.g. market
linkages
Mainstreaming the youth into the formal
financial and market systems
 The ultimate objective of the CAPYE is
to have the Youth mainstreamed into
formal banks / financial institutions and
market systems.
 A networking and mainstreaming
approach should be adopted wherein,
linkages with support organizations are
initiated right at the beginning of the
enterprise creation initiatives
 L

Evaluation of pilot phase
 Objective is to test the effectiveness of
the program design with a view to
addressing any weakness that may be
identified while reinforcing the strengths.
 A period of 18-24 months should be
adequate for the pilot phase.
 At the end of this period, an evaluation
should be commissioned to find out what
worked well and what did not work.
Scaling up phase
 The findings of the evaluation carried
out at the end of the pilot phase should
be used to refine design of CAPYE
 The objective is to replicate and
implement CAPYE through out the
country in order to reach more youth as
one of the key strategies for economic
development and political stability.
Set up an institutional framework to
replicate and implement CAPYE
programme at a national level
 The PMU should be expanded and
developed into an independent Youth
Enterprise Development Trust (YEDT).
 Further, it should be delinked from the
Directorate / Ministry of Youth in order to
promote a business like approach and
efficiency required for enterprise
promotion and growth
Additional responsibilities for YEDT
 Monitoring of impacts on youth entrepreneurs
(tracer studies etc)- not only on financial
performance to facilitate the adjustment of the
CAPYE to meet emerging social needs.
 A research and development role (or access
though a third party) to conduct ongoing
research on new technologies, markets etc to
support businesses and enhance scope of the
CAPYE e.g. value chain analysis & sub sector
studies
Additional responsibilities for YEDT
 The identification, marketing and leveraging of
“role models” or “champions” for the
programme at all stages! This should be part of
a customized marketing/publicity campaign
for the CAPYE.
 Oversight for the training and re-training of
young people for their success as
entrepreneurs in view of the expected changes
in the dynamic business environment
Ministry/ Directorate of Youth – Role and
responsibilities
 Responsible for lobbying the government to
create an enabling environment for the CAPYE
 Formation of a Youth Enterprise Development
Trust (YEDT)to champion the youth enterprise
development initiative and lobby for government
funding of the same
 Lobby for funding from National government &
development / donor agencies
 Constitute a Board of Directors with
representatives drawn from key stakeholders in
Youth enterprise development to monitor
performance of YEDT