The bottom line: the young helping the young

I started UYDO so that young people could have the opportunity to show the world what they are capable of, both in developing countries and here in the UK.

In Kenya, UYDO helps impoverished young people take themselves out of poverty by providing them with small loans and support so they can start their own mini-business and earn a sustainable living.

Here in the UK, UYDO trusts and invests in young people's skills by giving them the opportunity to take on roles with real levels of responsibility within the organisation, providing them with opportunities to improve their life through employment and empowerment.

The UK Executive Committee, which controls the charity's day-to-day operations, is entirely comprised of volunteers aged 18-25. The volunteers' roles and actions, which are relevant to their study area or chosen career path, are overseen by an experienced board of trustees. This structure not only creates an energetic, dynamic and innovative organisation, but also gives motivated youth in the UK the opportunity to develop their personal skill set by obtaining unbeatable experience in their chosen field.

Too often, young people are unfairly labelled with negative characteristics which can often hinder their chances of success. I believe that young people have a range of positive attributes that can add value to society and the community they are in. They tend to be idealistic, driven and dare to hope for positive change.

There is no coincidence that some of the greatest companies today, such as Google and Facebook, were started by youth entrepreneurs. Contrary to general belief, research and experience show that young people are just as capable of managing a loan and starting a business as their adult peers.

Yet, young people are often disadvantaged in comparison when accessing these type of services. As a consequence, accessing vital financial and business support is an enormous challenge.

For those 800 million young people living on less than $(US)2 a day, creating their own business is often the only opportunity left in an environment where job availability is scarce. In microfinance, for example, young people make up only ten per cent of the clients, despite making up a huge proportion of the population.

I set up UYDO as a social enterprise in order to address this, so that young people globally could use their skills and talents to help other young people get access to microfinance services and business support.

We do this by facilitating for young people around the world to raise capital or invest their intellectual capital to help reduce costs and improve youth employment programmes that our partners run in sub-Saharan Africa.

We believe that, by showing the development community that it is possible to work with youth clients in a financially sustainable manner, we can lead the way and encourage more people to invest in youth.

Find out more at www.uydo.org