The Jatun Yuyay community association lies in the foothills of the Imbabura Volcano, in the Imbabura province of Ecuador. In this area, where most economic activity revolves around agriculture and small-animal breeding, there is a large population of young women and men who do not have access to opportunities for quality education or employment.

ChildFund and its local partner, the Federation of Community Organizations of Imbabura (FOCI), are working to promote youth development in this area through the Youth Entrepreneurship project.

Thirty young men and women participate in the Youth Entrepreneurship project, attending weekly training sessions on topics such as market analysis, supply and demand, identification of business ideas and business plan development. The sessions also aim to foster their entrepreneurial spirit and improve their risk-taking and decision-making skills. These training sessions are conducted by the FOCI staff and 16-year-old René, who is the president of the Jatun Yuyay Youth Center.

"I like being the president of my youth center,” René says, “because it is an opportunity for me to learn from other people; and at the same time, they learn from me. At first I was nervous, but now when I work with them, I have great confidence in myself. I have learned to express myself and to interact better with people around me."

Under René’s leadership, the talented young people in the Youth Entrepreneurship project learn to design their own microenterprises, guided by their parents and other adults in their community.

At ChildFund, we know that young people play a key role in creating a better society. And when they have opportunities to gain support and skills, they thrive. René and his peers at Jatun Yuyay are becoming young entrepreneurs, capable of achieving their own goals while bettering their families and communities, too.