youthbank annual review 2009
DESCRIPTION
YouthBank's Annual Review for 2009. Investing in street youth. Incubating bright ideas. Transforming communities.TRANSCRIPT
that equips street youth (homeless, unemployed, and underemployed young people) to
serve as agents of economic development in low-income communities.
We prepare youth to be entrepreneurs and employers (not just employees).
YouthBank Fellows become independent business owners and create opportunities
and jobs for other street youth.
run by youth on four continents and guided by advisors from the public, private, and
social sectors. We launched our first incubator in August 2009 in Surulere, Lagos,
Nigeria.
Since then we’ve been invited to open incubators across Nigeria as well as India,
Kenya, Cameroon, Liberia, and Ghana.
In the following pages, we invite you to learn more about our work, provide feedback on our business model, and work with us to deepen our impact and scale our operations.
We’re a new nonprofit tackling an emerging global challenge – creating opportunities and meaningful roles for unemployed youth in the world’s poorest communities.
We equip YouthBank Fellows to be entrepreneurs, employers, and community leaders – by connecting them to the resources, mindset, and skills they need to be agents of local economic development.
We’re young but we’re learning from decades of experience – through on-the-ground research, detailed analysis, and feedback from experts in finance, economic development, social work, and corporate social responsibility.
We’re off to a good start but we’ve got to ramp up fast – after our successful launch in Lagos, communities in at least five other countries are requesting YouthBank Centers.
Are you a YouthBanker? Here’s a chance to be part of something big.
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Today, half the world’s population lives in cities. Youth make up 50% of unemployed
people on the planet. More than half the global population lives on less than $2/day.
Urbanization, youth unemployment, and a widening rich-poor divide will shape the
futures of developing and developed countries alike.
YouthBank works at the intersection of all three major trends, providing an
alternative to life on the streets, while harnessing young people’s ambition and
entrepreneurship to launch socially responsible businesses that create jobs and
jumpstart local economies.
Lagos, Nigeria: the world’s fastest-growing megacity (defined as a
city of 10M or more) – and site of YouthBank’s first incubator.
We developed YouthBank in response to a Nigerian activist’s desire
to address youth issues in this explosive megacity.
Lagos is an extreme example of the trends that are reshaping our
world: 6,000 jobseekers flood Lagos each day. The city is among the
most expensive of world cities (costlier than Barcelona and Los
Angeles), and extremely poor, with over 70% of residents living in
the city’s 42 slums. Low investment rates and high population
growth mean existing employers cannot absorb most job-seekers;
unskilled and inexperienced street youth have no alternative to the
gang activity, prostitution, odd jobs, and gray and black market
transactions that comprise over 60% of Lagos’s economic activity.
Every week 1.3 M more people join the swelling populations of the world’s cities.
This is the largest migration in the history of humanity … and it’s rapidly
accelerating.
(Brand, “City Planet,” 2007)
Left: the world’s biggest “mega-slums” (Davis, 2006).
Number of slum-dwellers today: 1 billion
By 2050, two billion more will join their ranks.
Slum-dwellers already make up 1/6 of humanity.
Most slums are in developing countries.
Most slum-dwellers are youth (25 or younger).
No. of slum-dwellers (millions)
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Times are tough for nonprofits and donors alike. We wanted to make sure we really added value before joining the already
crowded social sector. From 2007-2009, our team conducted research through focus groups, expert interviews, and surveys with
over 100 street youth.
We only launched YouthBank as an independent nonprofit when we realized our social change strategy (youth as business
partners, not beneficiaries) and our definition of success (outcome metrics like “# of jobs created” vs. input metrics like “# of youth
trained”) were beyond the missions of existing nonprofits. With the support of partner nonprofits and community leaders, we set
off to address the following issues:
Street youth have largely been left out of the microfinance revolution that has transformed the lives of millions of rural women. With no fixed address, few community ties, and lives of constant temptation, these youth need more than mutual guarantees and microloans. They need a kind of microfinance that mitigates credit risk and provides a viable alternative to life on the mean streets.
Our survey of youth-serving organizations found many programs focused on training at-risk youth, but no sustainable, end-to-end solution integrating the skills with financial resources, mentorship, and a commitment to hire and train others. Employment training programs prepared youth for jobs they might not find. Microfinance programs provided loans without developing business plans that could eventually create jobs.
According to the UN Information Center, youth make up 40% of the unemployed in Lagos. Worldwide, we are witnessing the largest youth cohort in human history. Even before the Great Recession, the ILO estimated that developing countries needed to create 1 billion jobs over the next decade just to keep up with first-time job seekers. Youth now make up nearly 50% of the global unemployed. This “lost generation” is a social justice, security, and economic issue. Unemployed street youth are vulnerable to exploitation, prone to radicalization, and burdensome to their countries. Halving youth unemployment in sub-Saharan Africa could increase GDP by 12-19%.
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Each YouthBank Center serves as an engine of community development, integrating
marginalized young people into the local economy as entrepreneurs,
employers, and leaders.
YouthBank alone can’t get every youth off the streets and into sustainable, living
wage jobs. We can, however, get the most ambitious and hard-working street youth
off the sidelines and give them the tools to fuel private sector growth. Enterprising
street youth currently have no support to launch formal businesses. They may
generate income but do not have business models or skills to create jobs for others.
YouthBank addresses this problem by employing, training, observing, coaching, and
only then investing in youth and their ideas. We incubate our young entrepreneurs
before we incubate their enterprises. The result? Lower credit risk, more
experienced young business owners, and more sustainable and growth-oriented
business models. Fellows leave YouthBank incubators with the resources and
capacity to employ others. They commit to doing so as part of the program.
YouthBank creates a clear path for youth to go from
poverty to self-sufficiency to community leadership.
Unlike training programs that prepare youth for jobs
they may not find, we prepare youth to create jobs for
themselves and for others.
Unlike microfinance programs that focus on providing
loans for anything from working capital to school fees
and wedding expenses, we focus our loans on building
strong, growth-oriented businesses that are coached
and vetted by social venture capitalists looking for
maximum social and financial returns.
We invest deeply in each class of Fellows, and we keep
working with them to realize a return on that
investment – one that pays dividends for the whole
community.
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YouthBank works with local nonprofit partners to identify and screen youth who commit to leaving gangs, prostitution, and life on the streets.
YouthBank Fellows are employed in a nonprofit business. This business serves the community and acts as a living classroom for the youth to learn and apply technology and business skills. The business also helps cover the costs of providing training, giving feedback, paying stipends, and opening bank accounts for Fellows.
After proving their work ethic and abilities, top performers can pitch their own business ideas. To receive start-up loans and mentorship, Fellows must have sufficient savings from their employment period, present viable business ideas to our judges, and commit to hiring street youth as their businesses grow.
Successful Fellows’ businesses can repay their loans and expand to hire other street youth. The Fellows join YouthBank's alumni network and take part in the screening and mentoring of future Fellows. The result is an engaged network of socially responsible youth-run enterprises.
Life on the streets is hard. Street youth can’t afford to plan for the long-term and invest in their communities when they are struggling to make ends meet. YouthBank gives them room to breathe, a chance to invest in themselves, and time to imagine a new future, where they are more than hawkers, beggars, or criminals. They sign a code of conduct and support each other in setting an example.
We provide the “nuts and bolts:” life skills (personal finance, decision-making, presenting oneself with confidence), business skills (accounting, marketing, customer service), and technological skills (using computers, external hard drives, cameras). Community leaders supplement on-the-job training and feedback with speeches and workshops.
The most tangible – but least important – kind of support we give is money. Our Fellows earn stable, living-wage stipends, open bank accounts, and start saving money. Top performers receive loans, which they must repay with interest to assume ownership of their businesses.
Entry(2 weeks)
Youth are accepted as YB fellows
Employment(6 months)
Fellows are employed in core business; they earn business skills on the job
and earn a stipend
Entrepreneurship(6 months+)
Top fellows pitch business ideas and receive loans in asset form. YB supports
start-ups with mentorship
Independence(On-going)
Start-ups mature and entrepreneurs use cash to
take ownership of business; they hire other street youth
YB invests in the fellows’
business training and in
successful fellows’ start-ups
Successful entrepreneurs
pay back YB loan and
interest. YB uses cash for
next class of fellows
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Youth
Funds
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For nearly a year and a half before the launch of our first
YouthBank Center in Lagos, we worked closely with street
youth in Lagos’s slum neighborhoods, young Nigerian
leaders, local business leaders, international development
experts, management consultants, investors, and
nonprofit leaders in the US, UK, and Canada to develop our
model.
We received generous feedback from individuals at
McKinsey & Company, the World Bank, Oxford University,
the University of Pennsylvania, Seventh Generation
Corporation, the Canadian International Peace Project, the
Nigeria Network of NGOs, Freedom Foundation, and
several US-based venture capitalists and microfinance
professionals.
We reached across definitions and geographies to test
a YouthBank model that grew simpler and more
powerful with each iteration.
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We did extensive on-the-ground research (focus groups, surveys, interviews) with the people who knew the situation best: street youth in Lagos
and leaders of youth-focused Nigerian NGOs.
Winter 2008 focus groups with nonprofits built YouthBank’s credibility and support from local leaders.
Participants applauded our “attitude of professionalism” and emphasized the importance of a “pay forward” system where Fellows trained and mentored other street youth.
A fall 2007 market survey of 77 street
youth in the slum neighborhoods of Mushin
and Surulere highlighted the precariousness –
and promise – of their lives.
66% had business ideas they hoped to launch one day, but were currently without regular employment and had low to no savings.
84% indicated some food insecurity.
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“Other” included:
Drug abuse, peer pressure, environmental degradation, government corruption, racial prejudice, high cost of living, overreliance on government
Lack of employment
opportunities
23%
Poverty
20% Overpopulation
10% Lack of infrastructure and amenities
12%
Other
15%
Faulty education
system
15%
Mindset
6%
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Private sector youth vocational
and training programs
26%
Government provision of
social services
7%
Improved infrastructure
21%
Improved education
system
10%
Government creation of jobs
16%
Other
14%
Mindset change
6% “Other” included:
Violence reduction, improved health care, youth education programs on drugs & sex, alternative energy, diversified economy, deportation of immigrants, government funded study abroad, and mandated population control
Summer 2009 focus groups convened youth from across Lagos to discuss the challenges they face. We heard that:
A summer 2009 baseline survey of 50 candidates for the first class of
YouthBank Fellows established a “control group” against which we can
measure our selected Fellows’ progress.
1 Youth have few opportunities for formal and legitimate employment
2 No progress can be made without changing the city’s short-term mentality
Median spend per day: 500 naira
Median earning per day: 650 naira
Median number of people they live with: 5 people including themselves
of respondents don’t know of any community center or
place for youth to go in their communities
want to learn how to run a business
50%
95%
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We took a cross-sectoral approach and studied best practices from different
industries to make sure YouthBank’s model reflected:
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Venture capitalists scrutinize the management of start-ups as closely as the market they’re in. Before making an investment, VCs conduct due diligence by checking references and spending time with entrepreneurs socially.
YouthBank’s due diligence is built into phase I; we get six months to observe and coach them before making an informed investment decision.
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Management consultants work with data. What gets measured gets managed, and a dashboard of regularly collected metrics can transform a client’s performance.
Data matters to YouthBank, too. Every week we measure each Center’s profitability and each Fellow’s progress on key metrics like income level, savings rate, and skill level. We discuss the results with the entire team.
3
Workforce development providers must create a “culture of work” in order to effectively retrain and place low-skilled workers in jobs. Mentorship, structure and discipline are key to integrating workers into the workforce.
We set clear expectations for our YouthBank Fellows. Each week, an assigned team leader works with our staff to set goals and timelines. Regular feedback emphasizes professionalism and work ethic.
4
Business incubators effectively accelerate the development of young businesses. In the US, 60% of businesses fail in their first four years of operation – but 87% of incubated businesses survive past five years or more.
Like a normal business incubator, YouthBank connects its young entrepreneurs to networks, shares infrastructure, and provides technical assistance. Unlike other incubators, we incubate the entrepreneur as well as the enterprise, and instill social responsibility at every stage.
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Continuing education providers know that students learn best by doing. Feedback and reflection are key to ensuring students retain and practice the skills they learn.
YouthBank’s phase I is built on experiential learning; our Fellows will not learn business by sitting behind desks. Fellows get training on the job. They regularly debrief as a group and benefit from personalized coaching.
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Seventh Generation is America’s top provider of environmentally preferable
non-toxic household products and a pioneer in the corporate responsibility
movement. The company focuses on sustainability and the conservation of
natural resources.
We met Seventh Generation in early 2009, when YouthBank took part in the company’s
innovative Spheres of Influence contest. The contest challenged us to engage with the annual
Corporate Consciousness Report, which details the company’s efforts to follow the Iroquois law
that states, "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next
seven generations.”
In May, Clara and Neha flew to Vermont to share our vision for YouthBank and learn from the
pioneers of sustainable impact. We were inspired by:
1 The focus on values
The company worked with a consultant to articulate its core value: living authentically. They brought it to life by being radically transparent about their successes and failures in pursuit of sustainability and higher consciousness. At YouthBank we revisited our incubator model to ensure our values of creativity, entrepreneurship, and community were reflected in all we did, from selecting Fellows to conducting conference calls.
2 The method of systems thinking
The company adopted a decision-making process that focused not on “a fragmented, compartmentalized world… but a world that is endlessly interconnected.” In turn, YouthBank took an end-to-end approach to creating opportunities for at-risk youth, linking each step on the path from beneficiary/trainee to change agent/community leader.
3 The power of a powerful mission
In books like The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line, Bob Willard, a Canadian sustainability expert and supporter of YouthBank, has documented how companies like Seventh Generation can unleash amazing energy and motivation in employees. The company’s light-filled Burlington headquarters buzzed with enthusiasm and focus; everyone we met was friendly, motivated, and open to our odd new idea. At YouthBank, too, we have seen how “a powerful mission is both an attractor and an energizer" (Robert Reich).
We look forward to deepening our relationship with Seventh Generation and continuing the
exciting conversations we started with our friends in Burlington last year.
Neha Kamani and Clara Chow speak to Seventh Generation about YouthBank: “their hearts beam on making real what needs to happen in the world”.
The CIPP is a cross-cultural nonprofit
organization launched in the aftermath of
September 11 to provide Canadian
leadership on issues of peace and
development locally, nationally, and
internationally.
CIPP has pledged to fund part of our Lagos
Center and develop a circle of young Nigerian
leaders.
SSPP brings groups together to provide aid that
will help impoverished areas to become self-
sufficient and sustainable. It sells beads made
by Ugandan women to benefit the women and
their families and to help fund other
development projects.
SSPP served as YouthBank’s fiscal sponsor
while we applied for nonprofit status in the
USA.
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We launched YouthBank as an independent nonprofit because our business model (with its self-sustaining nonprofit
business and social venture capital fund) didn’t quite fit with the approach and mission of most Nigerian nonprofits.
However, we were fortunate to work with forward-thinking Lagos-based NGO partners who pledged their support,
shared resources and contacts, and helped us spread the word about YouthBank.
Our valued “pipeline partners” sent high-potential low-income youth to us and shone the spotlight on our program.
We’d like to return the favor for three of our closest, most innovative partners:
“NNNGO champions a sector that is accountable,
independent and truly representative of giving a voice to
the common man.”
Established in 1992, NNNGO represents over 800 Nigerian
nonprofit organizations ranging from small groups working
at the local level, to larger networks working at the national
level.
“SkilDev Foundation” provides vocational training to
women and youth in various areas, from cooking to dress-
and jewelry-making.
Many young people attend training sessions at the SkilDev
Foundation center in Festac, Lagos.
“We reach out, give hope, rehabilitate, educate and
empower impoverished persons in Nigeria through
community based programs and initiatives to achieve
individual and community transformation.”
Freedom Foundation programs include: House of Refuge
– for individuals trapped in cycles of crime, drug, and
alcohol abuse, and Genesis House – which rehabilitates
displaced women, including former sex workers and
victims of abuse and trafficking.
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YouthBank’s potential for transformational
impact has drawn attention and praise.
We did a lot this year. We launched our first site in Lagos and
were overwhelmed with demand from local street youth,
encouraged by the support from established nonprofit
partners, and strengthened by the support of generous
Nigerian individuals and businesses. We also fielded requests
for YouthBank Centers in communities across the country and
around the world.
With our first YouthBank Center up and running and our first
class of Fellows ready to graduate from Phase I of our program,
we will turn our attention to strengthening the organization,
codifying lessons learned, and thinking through key strategic
issues.
YouthBank focuses on outcomes, not inputs.
While we carefully track our investments (time, money, Fellow
candidates, youth trained), we measure our success based on
the impact we have on our Fellows, their communities, and
eventually the cities and countries we challenge them to
transform through socially responsible entrepreneurship.
We also recognize that these outcomes won’t happen overnight,
so we also track interim impact to ensure we are on track.
Fellows get off the streets and become community leaders and employers
YouthBank Centers sustain themselves financially, independent of donor dollars
YouthBank’s model reaches scale through local ownership in communities across the globe
75% graduation rate from Phase I (employment) 70% loan repayment rate in Phase II (entrepreneurship) 60% rate of strong job creation (>5 employees)
33% of new Centers are launched as locally-owned franchises in communities where YouthBank is not currently active
50% of Centers break even within two years (i.e. cover operating costs of Center)
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Entry(2 weeks)
Youth are accepted as YB fellows
Employment(6 months)
Fellows are employed in core business; they learn business skills on the job
and earn a stipend
Entrepreneurship(6 months+)
Top fellows pitch business ideas and receive loans in asset form. YB supports
start-ups with mentorship
Independence(On-going)
Start-ups mature and entrepreneurs use cash to
take ownership of business; they hire other street youth
YB invests in the fellows’
business training and in
successful fellows’ start-ups
Successful entrepreneurs
pay back YB loan and
interest. YB uses cash for
next class of fellows
Youth
Funds
By 2015, when Lagos is the third largest city in the world, we will have served at least 400 youth, and our successful YouthBank
Fellows will run over 125 formal businesses employing 625 low-income youth at a level above their national minimum wage.
In other communities around the world, our YouthBank Centers will lower youth unemployment and poverty rates, and create a new,
positive perception of youth’s roles in their communities.
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Our Fellows will develop healthy budgeting and saving habits
Fellows will develop important business and entrepreneurship skills (e.g., keeping financial records, attracting new
customers, managing teammates)
YouthBank will build a strong reputation among street youth
At least 50% increase in savings (YouthBank will help Fellows open bank accounts)
Fellows will bring in at least 50% of the customers at the nonprofit business in Phase I (employment)
Fellows will report at least a 50% improvement on YouthBank’s skills and experiences survey
At least 30 candidates show up to interview for the 8-10 spots available in each class of Fellows
YouthBank is still completing its first pilot
program. However, we have already started
receiving invitations from communities around the
world, outlining the need for a YouthBank Center
in certain regions or cities.
The director of YouthBank Nigeria has received letters from social workers and community leaders across
Nigeria, including requests for YouthBank Centers for the youth in the largely Muslim northern region and
the troubled Niger River Delta. Elsewhere, the YouthBank International team is considering proposals for
future YouthBank Centers in Kenya, Cameroon, Ghana, India, Brazil, Liberia, Trinidad & Tobago, Canada,
and the United States of America.
YouthBank is exploring a franchise model as the best way to expand YouthBank’s impact, ensure community buy-in, and keep operating costs low. Community groups
or local nonprofits would serve as franchisees. They would receive YouthBank in a Box, a start-up kit with materials like market surveys, focus group guidelines, lesson
plans, work schedule templates, interview questions, baseline surveys, and a manual explaining YouthBank’s proprietary YB bus iness accounting system. With strong
support from YouthBank International and a regional YouthBank board, franchisees could launch and operate local YouthBank Centers, extending YouthBank’s values
of creativity, entrepreneurship, and community responsibility to as many youth as possible.
Initial Screening Strategic Planning Full Stakeholder Engagement
Redefining Business Plan
Testing The Waters
Approach
Pre-Launch
Stages
Limited use of global co-brand
Full support
Description
YB International team and high potential local leadership have initial discussions to gauge interest and suitability
In follow-up discussions, global and local leadership discuss local’s high-level plans and problem-solve potential customizations
Working together (in person and remotely), local leadership and country manager develop o Local strategic plan o Initial business plan o Stakeholder outreach
plan May involve visits to other
sites/leaders to enhance understanding
Local leadership reach out to initial stakeholders to o Test support of model o Finalize board and/or local
leader Local leadership and country
manager refine business plan, presentations based on initial feedback from stakeholders
Local leadership and country manager present final plans to global leadership
Launch
Current site
Potential site
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From a pool of 50 candidates, we selected eight
Fellows for our first class. These fellows come
from all over Lagos to be a part of YouthBank and
work at our center in Surulere.
In selecting the fellows, we looked for qualities
like community or family responsibility, self-
awareness, and problem-solving ability.
Throughout the process, the Fellows have learned
to work together in teams – an invaluable skill
that will help them as they prepare to become
leaders and entrepreneurs.
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0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Adobe Photoshop
Editing a picture on a computer
Uploading a picture from camera to computer
Bringing new clients into a business Learned from
experience with YB
91%
9%
Originated from fellows
Not found by fellows
YouthBank Fellows gained skills through training
and on-the-job work experience 1
2 YouthBank Fellows drive center revenue by
sourcing their own jobs
Revenue Breakdown at YouthBank Center by Type of Jobs Originated
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YouthBank is in an exciting but very lean start-up mode. We need your help as we scale our operations and
deepen our impact on street youth and their communities.
Sponsor YouthBank’s work. YouthBank has ambitious plans to reach
more youth. Can you help us get there? We need funding for two years to
launch each Center and reach break-even (after which little further
investment is required). Each Center incubates up to 20 youth
entrepreneurs and their businesses each year, and each successful Fellow
ultimately creates five or more jobs. Our volunteer management team will
ensure every gift is properly monitored and directly supports our mission.
It’s hard to beat that return on investment!
Volunteer your expertise. Our organization is young but it draws on
many years of experience and success thanks to the guidance and support of
our distinguished advisors and dedicated volunteer executive team. We are
actively building our network of socially responsible business and
community leaders. Join the club and help shape our future.
Hire our Fellows. Our Fellows don’t want charity; they want to earn their
way out of poverty. By hiring a YouthBank-incubated business, you’ll get high
quality service while helping a young entrepreneur. Think of the YouthBank
photo studio for your personal and corporate events. Learn about our Fellows’
start-ups online. You won’t be disappointed.
Share your stuff. In-kind donations have huge impact. If you have air
miles or a Starwood Preferred Guest card, or if you have laptops, computers,
cameras, and other technology to share, we promise to put them to good use.
Start a franchise. We are beginning to explore and test our scaling model. If
your community needs a YouthBank Center and you’re willing to lead it, we’ll
send you a YouthBank-in-a-Box to get started.
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It wasn’t easy launching our social enterprise in the middle of the Great Recession.
However, it had its perks too. We had the privilege of working with discerning and
dedicated donors, and we learned that bootstrapping had benefits; the tough
environment helped us sharpen our focus on our mission, think more creatively, and
develop a stronger team.
The gamble paid off. Since our launch in August, our pilot YouthBank Center in
Lagos has been flooded with eager street youth and urgent invitations to start
YouthBank Centers in other communities around the world.
Even on the tough days, when we struggle to decipher the static of transatlantic
phone calls, grapple with the challenges of operating in the world’s fastest growing
megacity, and debate the details of our scaling strategy, we are filled with and
fuelled by a constant sense of possibility.
We can’t help thinking we’re onto something big.
In those rare spare moments, I also can’t help thinking it’s amazing we’ve made it
so far.
Except for Nathaniel, the outstanding leader of our Lagos YouthBank Center, we’re
all volunteers.
We work in different sectors – arts and airlines, finance and government – and we
live on four continents – Asia, Africa, Europe, and North America.
What keeps us moving forward together is our shared focus on the same values we
emphasize in our Fellows: imagination, entrepreneurship, and, most of all,
community.
Active imaginations helped us believe that something like YouthBank could work.
Entrepreneurship is our product and process. And community is what keeps us
going, our first principle and our end goal.
Our model builds community. Each class of YouthBank Fellows forms a tight-knit
community of aspiring entrepreneurs. Fellows also belong to communities in Lagos,
communities to which they will return with a renewed sense of purpose, confidence,
and commitment.
As an organization, YouthBank has been lucky to join a community of dedicated
social entrepreneurs and values-driven businesses. It is a community full of
partners and supporters whose insights have made us more disciplined in our
approach, more rigorous in our analysis, and more relentless in our pursuit of
lasting results.
Lastly, I couldn’t write about community without a word from the incredible
members of YouthBank’s team. My colleagues have put so much into bringing this
big, bold idea to life. Their words on the following pages remind me why I’m a
YouthBanker.
Whether you’re a present or potential Fellow, supporter, or team member, thank
you for taking the time to “meet YouthBank.” I hope you’ll join us in writing the next
chapter of our story in 2010.
Sincerely,
President & CEO, YouthBank
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I was really motivated by the team members. It’s
a great group of dedicated people who are
working for a great cause – and from five
different time zones!
At any given moment, somewhere on the planet
someone is working to fulfill YouthBank’s
mission.
Team members pose with our Advisors and our first class of
Fellows at the US Consulate in Lagos.
I love working with young people
because I know they have skills,
energy and great potential.
YB allows me to rise above self and
to give back to society.
I believe in mentorship and I believe in
organizational sustainability.
Most importantly I believe in the power
of youth.
For me, YouthBank is a philosophy that
we need to spread across the World.
I am most excited by the element of youth
empowerment that is central to the
YouthBank model.
Youth mobilizing to help one another is the
spirit of our organization and this is reflected
throughout our structure.
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I wanted to use my business
background to deliver social impact,
and YouthBank was the perfect
opportunity.
I strongly believe in entrepreneurship:
not only does it create value for the
community, but also it empowers the
individual.
I appreciate YouthBank’s focus on
grassroots development.
I strongly believe that education must
be coupled with practical training
and sustainable implementation.
YouthBank is an exciting chance
to develop a potentially
revolutionary model of
microfinance for urban youth
and to put into practice some
insights and opportunities that
currently don't exist in the
market.
YouthBank can make a
tremendous impact, and I am
dedicated to making it happen.
YouthBank is so important for the
youth of Lagos. I want to help the
young people see that they don’t have
to wait to be employed. They can earn
their own livings and be independent
citizens.
Team members taking a break in Festac, Lagos.
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YOUTHBANK INTERNATIONAL
Consolidated Statement of Activities
For the year ended December 31, 2009
USD
REVENUES AND CONTRIBUTIONS United States Nigeria
36,667.80 - 36,667.80$
McKinsey Gift of Hope 20,354.21 20,354.21
University grants 3,250.00 3,250.00
5,000.00 5,000.00
0% interest loans 8,063.59 8,063.59
16,506.00 16,506.00$
Donated airline mileage* 16,506.00 16,506.00
3,648.36 3,648.36$
123.95 123.95
YouthBank Nigeria launch training space 260.41 260.41
Technology 3,264.00 3,264.00
53,173.80 3,648.36 56,822.16$
- 26,543.95 26,543.95$
Recurring expenses
Management 1,058.00 1,058.00
39.26 39.26
Transportation 28.41 28.41
Supplies 35.04 35.04
Utilities 43.42 43.42
Rent 12,500.00 12,500.00
2,914.17 2,914.17
864.30 864.30
Nonrecurring expenses
Launch initial fellow training 570.38 570.38
Launch fundraising event at US Consulate 340.00 340.00
Photography studio (core business) start-up capital 8,150.98 8,150.98
YouthBank Nigeria launch training space 260.41 260.41
384.99 - 384.99$
384.99 384.99
Other expenses 18,730.91 - 18,730.91$
Launch Trip & Site Visits 18,730.91 18,730.91
19,115.90 26,543.95 45,659.86$
* Calculated using the airlines’ conversion rates
Supporting services:
Management and general
Education and training
Total expenses
Fellow wages
Staffer wages
EXPENSES
YouthBank Nigeria Program
Total revenue and support
Seventh Generation Corporation
Contributions and grants
In-kind revenue
YouthBank Nigeria contributions and core business revenues
Photography studio (core business) revenues
We could not have launched YouthBank without the generous support we received.
Thank you for believing in us and our young entrepreneurs. We won’t let you down!
Freedom Foundation McKinsey & Company Gift of Hope Nigeria Network of NGOs Oxford University
Oxford Entrepreneurs University of Pennsylvania
Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships
University Scholars Communitech Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic
Seventh Generation Corporation
Dr. Olumuyiwa Aina Marissa Brittenham Clara Chow Curtis Copeland Amanda Cowley Julia DeIuliis Celia and Daniel Huber Michael Kerlin Nicholas and Alyssa Lovegrove Elizabeth Slavitt Valerie Villarreal Jennifer Wynn Alexander Yen Alice Hanjiang Zhou
David Burnie Clara Chow Parag Desai David Gotevbe Victor Gotevbe Larry Kanarek Kevin Kumler May Okonkwor Mike Onwuemene Rob Rosiello Yang Xu Alexander Yen
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Canadian International Peace Project Freedom Foundation
Ademola Adenusi Dr. Olumuyiwa Aina Francisco Arzubi Jeffrey Hollender Larry Kanarek Michael Kerlin Kevin Kumler Matthew Lipka Lily Liu Jude Onwuemene Era Osa Yemisi Ransome-Kuti Abiola Sunisi Rebecca Taber Jannick Thomsen Todd Wintner
Canadian International Peace Project CLEEN Foundation Freedom Foundation Nigeria Network of NGOs SkillDev Foundation Strategic Sustainable Partners Youth for Transparency International Wiseup Foundation
Michael Cooper Jodine Gordon David Gotevbe Franca Gotevbe Babatope James Laura Mitchell Kristy Nash Onyinye Nnubia Ugochukwu Nwosu Oladipo Oladapo Rachel Routh Denielle Sachs Segun Shogbanmu Yichen Wang Alice Zhou
Catherine Barnett Gregor Barnum Rachael Chong Carol Coonrod Tilman Ehrbeck Emmanuel Epongo Ross H. Goldstein Helen Hudson Aly Jeddy Mariya Khandros Dr. Bob Kocher Irina Nikolic Olumide Olufowobi Dave Rapaport Gbenga Sesan Alis Sevakian Seventh Generation
Family Rob Sholars Jennifer Walsh Bob Willard Reporters at Vanguard
Media, Guardian Newspaper, Next Media, This Day Newspaper
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CLARA CHOW – President, CEO LILY RUBIN – Executive Vice President KRISTIN HALL – CFO HARESH TILANI – COO JOYCE MENG – Director of Development ALEXANDER YEN – CTO IBIYE HARRY – Director of Innovation and Impact
Measurement VICTOR GOTEVBE – Country Representative
VICTOR GOTEVBE – Team Director MICHAEL ONWUEMENE – Finance Director FRANCIS ANYAEGBU – Innovation and Impact Director NATHANIEL GOTEVBE - Program Manager*
OLUYINKA ADEOTI, US Consulate, Lagos (Nigeria) DR OLUMUYIWA AINA, Consultant (Nigeria) DR SAM ERUGO, Abia State University, Youth for
Transparency International (Nigeria) OLUFEMI JOHNSON, Consultant (Nigeria) MICHAEL KERLIN, McKinsey & Company (USA) MICHAEL NORTON, Centre for Innovation in
Voluntary Action (UK) MAYOWA OBILADE, US Consulate, Lagos (Nigeria) THEODORE OGBONNA, Youth for Transparency
International (Canada) MAY OKONKWOR, SkillDev Foundation (Nigeria) MYLAH OSIFO, Freedom Foundation (Nigeria) MARK PERSAUD, Canadian International Peace
Project (Canada) YEMISI RANSOME-KUTI, Nigeria Network of NGOs (Nigeria)
Development Janine Camara Moabi Garebamono Anne Gilbert Neha Kamani Amlake Mehari
Operations Zishan Jiwani Chris Kim Jason Lerner Bic Leu Ryan McChristian Newton Omebere-Iyari Danny Urgelles
Innovation/Impact Julia DeIuliis Olivia Jung Elizabeth Slavitt Meredith Thurston
Finance Taishi Kushiro Felicia Curcuru Isabel Ramberg
*paid staff
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