“At a time when society’s biggest issue is youth unemployment, businesses and governments must work together to help young people develop an entrepreneurial mindset. That means fostering a culture which supports young people to take risks, set up businesses, create jobs and become masters of their own destiny. Whether it’s through finance, mentoring, incentives or training, we must all play our part so that this generation can achieve its full potential. The time to act is now.”

This is a quote from an Ernst & Young report called “Avoiding a Lost Generation,” produced in June 2013 for the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance Summit. But it could very well reflect the imperatives for the youth of the Philippines. At a time when our youth popUlation forms a large percentage of our total popUlation, and when many of the unemployed belong to the youth sector, both the government and the private sector must work together to empower young Filipinos to be productive members of society. Aside from boosting job generation and gainful employment, our government must create the structures and the mechanisms to enable youth entrepreneurship as a pillar of inclusive growth.

In order to help create this environment, we propose the passage of the “Youth Entrepreneurship Bill”, which seeks to integrate entrepreneurship into our secondary and tertiary education curricula; facilitate grants both for the teaching and the practice of entrepreneurship; and develop a national youth entrepreneurship program to provide support to young entrepreneurs.

This Bill seeks the cooperation of different departments such as the Department of Education (DepEd), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). Aside from developing and  integrating entrepreneurship courses in the curriculum for secondary and post-secondary school students, they shall also be tasked to facilitate the provision of grants to ensure that our schools, teachers, and teaching partners have the capacity to teach these courses. Grants shall also be made available to support students who are pursuing studies and projects related to enterpreneurship.

Further, this Bill tasks the MSME Development Council to develop a National Youth Enterpreneurship Program that will provide young enterpreneurs with strategic support in terms of access to financing, capital, incubation, as well as technology and skills transfer services The MSME Development Council and the Small Business Corporation shall provide preferential allocation for the youth in connection with available credit funds.

This Youth Entrepreneurship Bill is focused on the youth entrepreneur, is inclusive, and is geared toward all types of entrepreneurial talent belonging to underrepresented populations and communities. This Bill aims for sustainability and will be designed for long-term implementation. If we make this a priority measure and pass this Bill, we can envision a future led by young Filipinos who have initiative, who are motivated and driven, and who have the best skills to succeed in creating businesses, proViding jobs, and making inclusive growth a reality.

   DOWNLOAD RA 10679