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Agenda

Tuesday, 18th October

Registration opens

We will kick off the Summit with an inspirational and energising opening hearing from YBI’s members, partners and leading voices, as well as showcasing young entrepreneurs that have achieved incredible feats in the years since our last Summit. Recent years have not been without their challenges and we’ll also hear stories from members that have dealt with adversity and challenges. 

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This extended break gives the opportunity to meet our Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2022 finalists, as well as visiting the Young Entrepreneurs’ Marketplace showcasing local young entrepreneurs’, supported by our member Qredits, businesses.

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This session explores how green entrepreneurship can help tackle climate change, discussing the wider needs and ecosystem of green and social business. Hear from young entrepreneurs with businesses tackling environmental challenges, alongside our members and experts in green and social enterprise.

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Attendees have a chance to participate in an interactive session, bringing together our collective knowledge and experience so that we can better support entrepreneurs to develop businesses that can help solve some of our most pressing global challenges.

YBI’s Chair Marta Krupsinka will share her expertise and experience of the digital tools that support small businesses to enable easy access and support for Young Entrepreneurs. More to follow.

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Celebrate this year’s winners and finalists of the Global Mentor of the Year and the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year. Network with friends and colleagues and enjoy a drink and some canapes at what is sure to be the highlight of the Summit.

Wednesday, 19th October

This session is hosted by Youth Business Spain and requires separate registration by emailing the contact below. it is being hosted at the same venue as the other Summit sessions.

Youth Business Spain is promoting an evaluation of the inclusive entrepreneurship ecosystem for young people in Spain through the Better Entrepreneurship Policy tool developed by the European Commission and the OECD. A self-assessment and online learning tool for people and institutions involved in the design and implementation of inclusive and social entrepreneurship policies and programmes.

YBS has  involved representatives of the national government, regional and local governments, Universities, institutions and organizations that support young people and entrepreneurship all over Spain. With the collaboration of GEM, the results will be analyzed and  based in the result they working out in a document of proposals.

If you would like to join and hear more about this, please contact Sara Simón Penas, ssimon@youthbusiness.es to book your place.

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Short ‘TED Talk’ style presentations from leading practitioners in the ESG arena bring diverse insights and perspectives on what it means to consider Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors, and why this is an increasingly important topic for young entrepreneurs. Practical examples will bring to life how young entrepreneurs can use ESG to become more responsible businesses and unlock profitable new opportunities to partner with multi-national companies. 

We will then split into breakout groups – either an opportunity for informal questions with an interactive ‘fireside chat’ with a speaker, or a hands-on preview and demo of a new ESG self-assessment tool due to be rolled out to YBI members globally. 

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When supporting the next generation of job creators to run responsible businesses, it is crucial that entrepreneurs are familiar with, understand and embed decent work principles. In this session, attendees will hear from partners, programme implementers, young entrepreneurs and experts in the decent work field through a panel discussion followed by a  Q&A and an engaging discussion with the audience. 

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Inclusivity afternoon – an important part of the wider Responsible Business Agenda. The three session leads will share more about their sessions. 

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True inclusion will only happen if we take action. It also requires us to reflect on our actions and learn to do things differently. In 2020, with support from InkDot, YBI members and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion experts, YBI co-created our Inclusivity Toolkit. We are pleased to share our inclusivity journey and the Inclusivity Toolkit. Our goal is not to teach everything about inclusivity, nor is it about the theory of justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Instead, the toolkit and our position focuses on helping individuals and organisations to reflect and take action to become more inclusive in ways of thinking, working and being.

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One in six adults worldwide is living with a disability. Young people living with disabilities experience lower labour market participation and work in lower-paid occupations. People with disabilities often want to work, and entrepreneurship can be a valuable and viable option as they can work on their own terms. Members and specialists in supporting people with disabilities will share their work and discuss the necessary support structures, resources, reasonable adaptations and materials needed to enable aspiring entrepreneurs with disabilities to start businesses. 

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This one-hour session will form the start of our Indigenous Working Group – for those working with or looking to work with Indigenous entrepreneurs in the future. Members working with Indigenous entrepreneurs will share their experiences and programming strategies, as well as successes and challenges. 

Members will share the history behind why they designed their programming in a particular way, and how they hope it will continue to evolve over time. A facilitated discussion will conclude with agreed next steps for the working group. All members are welcome and there is no obligation to join the working group after the session. 

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YBI’s Entrepreneurship Within Reach report shares our 20 years of evidence of what is needed to support a young person to start, sustain and grow a business. The model that defines YBI’s integrated approach for successful entrepreneurship support is around personal development, business development and ecosystem. 

We will hear from members on how they view quality, what they have done to embed quality within their programmes and how as a Network, YBI members go about developing and improving their programmes.

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Everyone is invited to join us at this buffet dinner and evening social event.

Thursday, 20th October

This session is hosted by Youth Business Poland and Habitat and requires separate registration by emailing the contact below. it is being hosted at the same venue as the other Summit sessions.

This session explores the unique challenges refugee entrepreneurs face when starting businesses. Hosted by YBI members Habitat, Turkey and Youth Business Poland, we will draw on their knowledge and experience in addressing these challenges through specifically designed programmes to ensure the essential transition for refugee entrepreneurs to adapt and thrive in their new environments.

If you would like to attend this breakfast session please contact Tuğba Saptır to register tugba@habitatdernegi.org

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Anita Tiessen, YBI CEO and Adenike Adeyemi, YBI Trustee and Executive Director of YBI member FATE Foundation will reflect on Network achievements and how we mobilise to create bigger impact together.

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Working with Overtime leaders founder Gillian Davis we will share insights gained through working with C-suite clients around the world. She will share the themes she sees as we come out of the pandemic and adapt to changes that have come with it. This session will focus on the adaptation-needs for leaders to be successful and how to balance the need to lead both ourselves and others. 

Connecting with peers, we will get people talking about and sharing their leadership challenges through peer supported conversations.

We will close with a focus on Gold Medal Leadership, hearing from the Equipment Manager from the Canadian Women National Hockey team and seeing high-performance leadership in action. 

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Our Dutch Member and Summit co-host, Qredits, will be sharing their knowledge around microfinance and financial inclusion. Through this session we will share more examples of new and interesting models that members are using to enable access to finance to help young entrepreneurs around the world.

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Meet our speakers, panelists and storytellers

Executive Director FATE Foundation, NigeriaSessions:
  • Quality programmes

Adenike Adeyemi is a YBI trustee and the Executive Director for FATE Foundation, our member in Nigeria.

Adenike is a social innovator and an expert in youth entrepreneurship, institutional transformation, non-profit sustainability, philanthropy and corporate governance.

Adenike has established the FATE Institute as a thought leader in Nigeria’s MSME and entrepreneurship ecosystem. FATE Institute has provided over 193,000 aspiring and emerging entrepreneurs with capacity building, advisory services, mentoring and financing to start, grow and scale their businesses.

Adenike will join the session on quality programmes at our Global Summit.

CEO Youth Business Poland (YBP)Sessions:
  • Co-host: Habitat and Youth Business Poland

Adrian Migoń is the CEO of YBI member Youth Business Poland (YBP).

Adrian is a social entrepreneur and expert in the field of innovation, entrepreneurship and mentoring. Since 2008, he has been involved in the development of an entrepreneurship ecosystem in Poland through the Technology Incubator Foundation (FIT) and Youth Business Poland’s mentoring programme, which aims to provide complex and effective support to young people so that they can set up and develop businesses and create new jobs.

Adrian will co-host the Habitat and Youth Business Poland hosted session on the unique challenges of refugee entrepreneurs.

Founder & CEO Somo Africa, KenyaSessions:
  • Financial Inclusion

Amelia Hopkins Phillips is the CEO and Founder of Somo Africa, YBI member in Kenya.

Amelia started working with schools and youth groups in Nairobi’s informal settlements in 2012. Passionate about creating avenues for people to break ceilings that have been set for them, she launched Somo’s initial programmes in 2016. Amelia believes entrepreneurship is an avenue to allow people to dream beyond their current conditions and create positive change in their communities.

Amelia will join the Financial Inclusion session at our Global Summit.

Founder & CEO M/s Hindavi Solution Private Limited, IndiaSessions:
  • Opening & Judge for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Amruta Mangale from India is the winner of our Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2020 with her business M/s Hindavi Solution Private Limited, which manufactures a wide range of adhesives, glues and pigments. The international jury was impressed by Amruta’s leveraging of technology, continued focus on research and development and employee retention during COVID-19. She has been supported by our member in India, Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST).

Amruta will be a speaker at our Global Summit opening as well as being one of the judges for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Marketing and Communications Lead OverTime Leader, UKSessions:
  • Speaker: Leading in a Hybrid World session.

Andrew Davis is the Marketing and Communications Lead at OverTime Leader. He knows what it takes to be a high-performing team, as he’s been in the locker room with Olympians, rising stars, and professional athletes. He also has a background in journalism and marketing but found his true passion as an equipment manager for Canada’s Women’s National Hockey Team.

Having been a part of the programme for the past seven years, Andrew has witnessed both success and failure at the highest level of the sport. He’s been a part of successful teams that had embodied many of the same principles of leadership and teamwork that also lead to success in the corporate world.

Andrew will speak on the Leading in a Hybrid World session at our Global Summit.

Senior Managing Director Accenture, UKSessions:
  • Speaker: Unlocking ESG

Andrew Smart is the Global Industry Senior Managing Director for Energy and is based in Accenture’s London office. He is responsible for defining and driving Accenture’s global industry program for oil and gas. He has led large scale and strategic M&A and business transformation programs at many oil and gas clients, as well as helping address their strategic priorities and planning. Andrew holds a Philosophy degree from Durham University and a post graduate degree in Computer Science from Cambridge University. 

Andrew will be a speaker at the session on Unlocking ESG at our Global Summit.

CEO Youth Business International (YBI)Sessions:
  • Opening

Anita Tiessen is CEO of YBI, and leads the global network’s efforts to connect members, partners and young people to develop and scale new solutions that leverage the power of entrepreneurship to drive social and economic change. Anita has extensive experience in international development, human rights and leading global networks. Before joining YBI in 2018, Anita was CEO of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, a global movement of 150 country members, where she focused on growing the organisation’s reach and impact. Previously she was Deputy Executive Director of UNICEF UK, and Head of Communications at Amnesty International’s global headquarters.

Anita will be a speaker at the Global Summit opening.

General Manager Manq'a, BoliviaSessions:
  • Facilitated Discussion: Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs

Ariel Tito is the General Manager of Manq’a, YBI’s member in Bolivia. MANQ’A is a company with social impact recognised by international organisations as one of the most innovative and scalable solutions in Latin America. He is also the Coordinator of the Employment and Young Entrepreneurs programme in Latin America for ICCO Cooperation.

Ariel is a social communicator and a specialist in design, planning and evaluation of  national and international developmental cooperation programmes and projects. 

He has extensive experience in the management of technical education, employment and entrepreneurship strategies with young people from peri-urban, rural and vulnerable areas of Bolivia, Colombia, Honduras and Guatemala. 

Ariel will join the facilitated discussion on Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs at our Global Summit, which marks the start of YBI’s Indigenous Working Group. 

 

Executive Director Perspektiva, PeruSessions:
  • Facilitated Discussion: Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs

Bady is Executive Director and Associate of Perspektiva, YBI’s member in Peru. He is convinced that young people build the foundations for a better future and has 22 years of experience doing development work in Peru through entrepreneurship, employment, education, environmental and productive development programmes. More than 140,000 people have benefited from Perspektiva’s support, most of them young people and women.

Bady will join the facilitated discussion on Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs at our Global Summit, which marks the start of YBI’s Indigenous Working Group.

Dean of the FATE School of Entrepreneurship FATE Foundation, NigeriaSessions:
  • Masters of Ceremonies – day 3
  • Panel: Inclusive Entrepreneurship for Young People with Disabilities
  • Social and green entrepreneurship

Bambo Adebowale is the first Dean of the FATE School of Entrepreneurship at YBI’s member in Nigeria, FATE Foundation. Bambo has over two decades of experience in providing capacity building, mentoring and advisory support to the small and medium enterprise space in Nigeria. His expertise includes business planning and strategic planning, financial management, investment readiness and growth advisory support to entrepreneurs.

Bambo will serve as Master of Ceremonies on day 3 of the Global Summit and join the panel on inclusive entrepreneurship for young people with disabilities.

Chief Advisor Development Solutions, MongoliaSessions:
  • Inclusivity Toolkit

Bat-Orshikh Erdenebat is Programme Manager of Youth Business Mongolia, a programme run by Development Solutions, YBI’s member in Mongolia. He works on development projects to support young unemployed people, people with disabilities and remote rural communities to start and grow businesses. Bat-Orshikh is a certified management consultant and conducts private sector development research for international organisations.

Bat-Orshikh will join the Inclusivity Toolkit session at our Global Summit.

Deputy Secretary General Habitat Association, TurkeySessions:
  • Habitat and Youth Business Poland hosted session

Buğra is Deputy Secretary General of Habitat Association, YBI’s member in Turkey.

He has developed, led, and managed multi-partnership projects with the private sector, public sector, NGOs in the fields of sustainable development, financial awareness, digital skills development, entrepreneurship, and livelihoods programmes for vulnerable groups. As a founder of the Social Climate Association, he worked in the field of sustainability and sustainable development with a focus on climate action since 2014. In addition to his role as Deputy Secretary General at Habitat Association, he is Acting Managing Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Turkey, and is responsible for project development, international relations, inclusive entrepreneurship, and digital skills development programmes.

Buğra will co-host the Habitat and Youth Business Poland hosted session on the unique challenges of refugee entrepreneurs at our Global Summit.

General Manager Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT)Sessions:
  • Moderator: Green Entrepreneurship

Cardelle Fergusson is the General Manager of YBI member Barbados Youth Business Trust (BYBT), Visionary and Regional Coordinator of the Social Enterprise Incubator operating in Barbados, Dominica and St. Lucia, and acting Managing Director of the Global Entrepreneurship Network Barbados.

Cardelle is a social enterprise specialist and has a passion for entrepreneurship and youth development in general. She has a proven track record of developing strategic plans, writing, and receiving approvals of proposals for partnerships, grants and projects from international donor organisations and development agencies.

Cardelle will moderate the session on Green Entrepreneurship at our Global Summit.

Founder Caxton Sports Management, SwedenSessions:
  • Opening

Caxton Njuki came to Sweden in 1987 as a 5-year-old refugee from Uganda. Being able to support and help others every day is his biggest motivation and the reason he built his business Caxton Sports Management. Caxton has been a volunteer mentor with our member in Sweden, NyföretagarCentrum, for over 10 years, helping other young entrepreneurs to also live their dream. He is the winner of our Mentor of the Year Award 2021.

Chairman Anguilla Youth Business FoundationSessions:
  • Financial Inclusion

Clemvio is Chairman of YBI member Anguilla Youth Business Foundation and also serves on the Anguilla Social Security Board.

He is an advocate for youth development, entrepreneurship and the importance of finding the societal problem we were born to solve. In 2020, Clemvio, along with his hister, launched his business Quest Experiences, offering immersive experiences to tourists and local in Anguilla aimed at preserving and celebrating Anguillan culture and history.

Previously, he became the Chief Minister of Anguilla’s first National Youth Parliament after holding positions in the Anguilla National Youth Council and serving as a CARICOM Youth Ambassador for two years.

Clemvio will join the Financial Inclusion session at our Global Summit.

Head of Corporate Partnerships Hatch Enterprise, UKSessions:
  • Masters of Ceremonies – day 2

Deryl joined our member in the UK, Hatch Enterprise, in March 2020 as Head of Corporate Partnerships.  She enjoys working in partnership with businesses to provide meaningful employee engagement opportunities for staff and has a particular interest in supporting young people as they grow their business ideas.  Deryl is also a freelance coach with a focus on graduates and women changing or developing their careers.

Deryl will be serving as a Master of Ceremonies on day 2 of our Global Summit.

Manager for Sustainability, Diversity, and Inclusion Standard Chartered Bank UgandaSessions:
  • Breakout Session: Working with Disability

Deus Turyatemba is Manager for Sustainability, Diversity & Inclusion at Standard Chartered Bank Uganda. He has been at the fore front of leading the bank’s journey towards becoming a disability confident organisation for the last 8 years.  

Prior to his current role, Deus worked with Sightsavers Uganda, Blind But Able, and Uganda National Association of the Blind, leading disability inclusion advocacy and capacity building projects.  

Deus lives with a visual disability which he acquired due to measles but has managed to beat the odds of his visual impairment. He truly believes that ‘disability inclusion’ is only possible through a deliberate effort.!  

Deus will join the breakout session on working with disability at our Global Summit

Founder Qredits, The NetherlandsSessions:
  • Opening and Financial Inclusion

Elwin Groenevelt is the founder of Qredits, YBI’s member in The Netherlands.

Qredits is the only microfinance organisation operating nationally in The Netherlands. Qredits’ vision is to build a strong and independent entrepreneurship culture in the Netherlands by providing financing, mentoring and tools for micro-entrepreneurs that have a viable business plan, yet are unable to obtain credit facilities from conventional lending institutions.

Elwin will be a speaker at the Global Summit opening and the Financial Inclusion session.

International Relations Manager Qredits, The NetherlandsSessions:
  • Financial Inclusion

Evelyne Oprel is International Relations Manager at Qredits, YBI member in The Netherlands.

Evelyne maintains close relations with international peers and network organisations. Thanks to her expertise, she was actively involved in setting up Qredits locations in the Caribbean Netherlands over the past few years.

Evelyne has a background in international business, languages and communication. Before joining Qredits, she worked for several non-profit organizations in Central and Eastern Europe and lived and worked in the US for 15 years.

Evelyne will join the Financial Inclusion session at our Global Summit.

Aliança Empreendedora, BrazilSessions:
  • Masters of Ceremonies – day 3

Geovana Conti is an entrepreneur and former CEO of Youngers – Startup, an award-winning social enterprise focused on business education for vulnerable people in Brazil. She now leads on our Brazilian member Aliança Empreendedora’s Credit Hub, a platform to connect vulnerable entrepreneurs to microcredit.

Geovana will be serving as Master of Ceremonies on day 3 of our Global Summit.

Founder OverTime Leader, UKSessions:
  • Leading in a Hybrid World

Gillian Davis is the founder of OverTime Leader. Over the past decade, she has partnered with leaders in fast-growing technology-driven companies to help them identify the roles they need to play and the shifts they need to make in order to have an impact.

Dubbed the “architect of the unseen” by her clients, Gillian loves troubleshooting and getting things unstuck by teasing out and solving for the organisational and leadership pain points that come with scaling businesses and teams.  

Gillian is also a published author and recognised expert on progressive leadership development, having written First Time Leader: Foundational Tools to Inspire and Enable Your Team in 2014 (Wiley). She is an advisor to the Black British Business Awards Talent Accelerator Programme, a mentor for Techstars, and runs entrepreneur circles for the female entrepreneurs from her hometown.  

Gillian will lead the Leading in a Hybrid World session at our Global Summit.

Founder & Senior Consultant Sustainable Business Consulting, KenyaSessions:
  • Unlocking ESG and Decent Work panel

Gladys Kivati is a Sustainability & ESG specialist at Sustainable Business Consulting.   She has extensive expertise and experience in sustainability, environmental, social, and governance integration, and sustainable finance working with SGBs, enterprise support organisations, investors, the private sector, and non-profit organisations to accelerate the transition to an impact, low-carbon and sustainable growth economy.

Gladys will join the session on Unlocking ESG and the Decent Work panel at our Global Summit.

CEO & Founder Bright Tide, UKSessions:
  • Panel: Green Entrepreneurship

Harry Wright is the CEO & Founder of the sustainability consultancy company Bright Tide. Harry is also a qualified lawyer and a climate change & biodiversity expert. After a prestigious career in London as a corporate lawyer, he set up his own company Bright Tide, to empower the private sector to ‘turn the tide’ on climate change and biodiversity loss. He has recently launched the Blue Economy Ocean Accelerator Programme to connect leading corporations with ocean innovators around the world.

Harry will join the Green Entrepreneurship panel at our Global Summit.

Director, Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program Futurpreneur, CanadaSessions:
  • Facilitated Discussion: Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs

Holly Atjecoutay is the Director of the Indigenous Entrepreneur Startup Program at Futurpreneur, YBI’s member in Canada. She is leading a team of passionate and knowledgeable Indigenous small business experts across the country serving young Indigenous entrepreneurs and supporting them in building successful small businesses. Holly is Indigenous to Canada, Cree and Saulteaux from Cowessess First Nation in Saskatchewan.

Holly has worked in Indigenous economic, business, and entrepreneurial development for the past six years, and has worked within First Nations communities and organiszations her entire career. She has built and implemented tailored programming and tools for Indigenous entrepreneurs, supported hundreds of Indigenous entrepreneurs start their businesses, while also contributing to a collaborative ecosystem of Indigenous community and entrepreneurial support organiszations to drive the growth of Indigenous economic resiliency. 

Holly will join the facilitated discussion on Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs at our Global Summit, which marks the start of YBI’s Indigenous Working Group. 

 

Sustainability Services Lead Accenture the NetherlandsSessions:
  • Panel: Green Entrepreneurship & Judge for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Ingrid Kersten is the Sustainability Services Lead for Accenture the Netherlands and is based in Accenture’s Amsterdam office.

Ingrid is responsible for defining and driving Accenture’s Sustainability Practice and Services out of the Netherlands and delivering on Accenture’s Sustainability Value Promise. She has held a variety of positions in Consulting, Technology and Business Process Outsourcing and has led large scale transformation programs many of which in the Resources industry. Ingrid holds an International Management degree from the University of Maastricht.

Ingrid will join the Green Entrepreneurship panel at our Global Summit as well as being one of the judges for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Head of Partnerships Futurpreneur, CanadaSessions:
  • Breakout session: Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs

Janis Nixon is Head of Partnerships at Futurpreneur, YBI’s member in Canada. She leads the Corporate and Public Affairs team in building strong values based, trusted relationships with partners to help diverse young entrepreneurs start and succeed. Janis secured the largest corporate commitment in Futurpreneur’s history to launch the Black Entrepreneur Startup Program, funded by the Royal Bank of Canada. She is a marketing professional with a focused specialisation in fund development and has worked in both for profit and non-profit for over 25 years. 

Janis will facilitate the breakout session on Supporting Indigenous Young Entrepreneurs at our Global Summit, which marks the start of YBI’s Indigenous Working Group.  

Director-General EU Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and InclusionSessions:
  • TBC

Joost Korte was appointed Director-General of the Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion on 16 March 2018. Previously, the Dutch national served as Deputy Director-General in the European Commission’s Trade Department, in the Agriculture and Rural Development Department as well as in the Enlargement Department. Furthermore, Mr. Korte spent several years in the Commission’s Secretariat General as Director, responsible for the relations with the Council of Ministers, and gained extensive experience in the Private offices of Sir Leon Brittan, Chris Patten and Danuta Hübner. These professional experiences within European institutions allowed him to develop a profound understanding of EU decision-making. A lawyer by training, Joost Korte joined the Commission in 1991, following eight years of academic work on European law at the Universities of Utrecht and Edinburgh.

Joost Korte will be the keynote speaker at our Global Summit.

Founder & CEO Bamboovement, The NetherlandsSessions:
  • Panel: Green Entrepreneurship & Summit Marketplace.

Joshua van den Hurk is the founder & CEO of Bamboovement. They keep in mind what is best for our planet and act accordingly. This translates into inventing new products to reduce the general use of plastic, improving existing alternatives to make them more eco-friendly, and building relationships with like-minded companies to achieve greener heights.

Joshua will join the Green Entrepreneurship panel at our Global Summit as well as the Summit Marketplace.

Founder Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST), IndiaSessions:
  • Opening

Lakshmi Venkataraman Venkatesan is the founder of our member in India, Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST). BYST fosters entrepreneurship among the underprivileged youth in India who lack the resources to start their ventures despite having adequate knowledge. She brought in the concept of mentoring of first-generation young entrepreneurs from developed countries and modified it suitably to the Indian context.

Lakshmi will be a speaker at the Global Summit opening.

Chief of Staff, Office of the CEO Europe & Corporate Social Responsibility Officer AccentureSessions:
  • Presenter: Unlocking ESG

Laurence Morvan is The Chief of Staff of the office of the CEO Europe and the Corporate Social Responsibility Officer at Accenture. She is a member of Accenture’s Europe Management Committee. 

She is developing Accenture’s approach to strengthening their presence in Europe, more fully leveraging the EU strategies and funding. As CSR officer, Laurence focuses on advancing Accenture’s digital responsibility with programmes around skilling for the digital age and leveraging technology responsibly and for societal impact.  Laurence represents Accenture at external forums around topics related to entrepreneurship, future of work and business responsibility.  

Laurence will be presenting at the session on Unlocking ESG at our Global Summit.

President Youth Business SpainSessions:
  • Quality Programmes

Luis Deber is the President of YBI member Youth Business Spain (YBS). At YBS, Luis supports entrepreneurial projects by focusing on the settings and background to promote and make the projects feasible.  

Luis has a track record of more than 20 years, collaborating with different universities and business schools, working to instill an entrepreneurial attitude in all participants. 

Luis will join the Quality Programmes session at our Global Summit. 

Director of Operations Young Africa BotswanaSessions:
  • Quality Programmes

Marteen Weers is the Director of Operations at YBI member, Young Africa Botswana. YAB’s motto is ‘For the Youth; By the Youth’. They believe that young people are perfectly capable to
lead the necessary shift towards economic growth and development of the African continent.  

Marteen has over 20 years of experience in Youth Work and Community Economic Development and has helped to implement the very first Futuremakers by Standard Chartered programme in 2019, which provides a solid basis for successful youth-led businesses in Botswana. 

Marteen will join the Quality Programmes session at our Global Summit. 

Head of Google for Startups UKSessions:
  • Speaker: Opening and Awards & Judge for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Marta founded her first business at 19. She has since co-founded three businesses and been widely recognized for her achievements and contribution to the field of entrepreneurship, including recognition in Forbes’s 30 Under 30 in 2016 and their top 60 Female Tech Executives globally in 2018. Currently, she focuses her role as Head of Google for Startups in the UK to connect and empower entrepreneurs from less advantaged backgrounds and less developed ecosystems, and as Chair of ACUA Ocean is working towards creating the world’s first zero carbon H-USVs for monitoring and sustainable management of oceans and waterways. 

Marta will be a speaker for the opening and award sessions as well as being one of the judges for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Programme Manager Youth Business PolandSessions:
  • Co-host: Habitat and Youth Business Poland hosted session

Marta Migoń is Programme Manager at YBI member Youth Business Poland and has developed the Youth Business Poland mentoring programme. She liaises with fundraisers and maintains partnerships with organisations and institutions supporting activities in the field of entrepreneurship.

Marta has education and experience in training and coaching. She also runs her own business and therefore understands the process of becoming an entrepreneur.

Marta will co-host the Habitat and Youth Business Poland hosted session on the unique challenges of refugee entrepreneurs.

Partnerships Manager Somo Africa, KenyaSessions:
  • Masters of Ceremonies – day 1

Maureen is passionate about increasing opportunities for low-income youth in Kenya, especially through entrepreneurship. She has over eight years of experience working in marginalised communities to foster a culture of learning, earning, and problem-solving through the use of technology and entrepreneurship. As Partnerships Manager at our Kenyan member Somo Africa, she focusses on fostering relationships with a common goal of giving micro and small businesses access to knowledge, finance, digital tools and markets.

Maureen will be serving as a Master of Ceremonies on day 1 of our Global Summit.

Social Innovation Coordinator ETIC, JapanSessions:
  • Masters of Ceremonies – day 2

Naho’s work at ETIC, our member in Japan, focusses on facilitation of multi-sectoral dialogues and empowerment of non-profit leaders in Japan’s social sector. She works as a freelance translator, coordinator of international programmes, and is an experienced personal coach in cross-cultural communications both in and out of ETIC.

Naho will be serving as a Master of Ceremonies on day 2 of our Global Summit.

Director, Financial Inclusion Standard Chartered Bank (SCB)Sessions:
  • Financial Inclusion

Neil joined Standard Chartered Bank in January 2022 to lead on a new financial inclusion approach within the Futuremakers initiative and across the Bank. He is currently developing new initiatives around financial inclusion and access to finance across Standard Chartered Bank’s markets linked to the Lifting Participation stand. He has a background in Banking and International Development with experience working across Africa and Asia on SME development and access to finance initiatives.

Neil will join the Financial Inclusion session at our Global Summit.

Founder & CEO Kuza Freezer, KenyaSessions:
  • Panel: Decent Work

Purity Gakuo is a young entrepreneur and Founder & CEO of Kuza Freezer. Purity’s humble background and great passion for technology prompted her to start a business with a social impact in her community.

Purity’s business helps small-scale fishermen to overcome their in-job challenges by manufacturing Pay as You Go solar-powered freezers to bridge the cold-chain gap in the fish value chain and at the same time enhance job opportunities for young people and women in Sub-Saharan Africa.

She is one of the finalists in our Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Business for Good Award.

Purity will join the Decent Work panel at our Global Summit.

Executive Director Bangladesh Youth Enterprise Advice and Helpcentre (B'YEAH)Sessions:
  • Panel: Decent Work

Rashed Mamun is Executive Director of our member Bangladesh Youth Enterprise Advice & Helpcentre. He is an impact-driven leader with extensive cross-cultural experience in spearheading dynamic teams in ICT, Education, and Capacity Development sectors in Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Philippines, and Myanmar, alongside hands-on knowledge of business process enhancement, change management, training, and management consulting in both non-for-profit and for-profit.

His particular expertise and interest are aligning business goals with technology solutions to achieve organizational sustainability through ensuring continuous process improvements.

Rashed will join the Decent Work panel at our Global Summit.

Head of Sustainability - Brazil & South Cone The Coca-Cola CompanySessions:
  • Panel: Green Entrepreneurship

As Head of Sustainability for Brazil and the South Cone Region of Latin America at The Coca-Cola Company, Rodrigo is responsible for leading strategies, programmes, and initiatives around the circular economy, water, climate, as well as agricultural and small entrepreneurs in the company´s value chain. He is co-founder and former CEO of YBI’s member organisation in Brazil, Aliança Empreendedora, who support more than 120,000 micro-entrepreneurs across Brazil. He also co-founded and is a board member of Emerge, a company focused on promoting science-based innovation through integrating researchers, scientists, and startups with large companies in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food production, agriculture, and construction. 

Rodrigo will join the Green Entrepreneurship Panel at our Global Summit.

Mentoring Manager Cordaid UgandaSessions:
  • Access to Finance

Rose Namutebi is a mentoring Manager and coordinates the Future Makers Youth Agribusiness project at Cordaid Uganda. Rose is an advocate for gender, youth and disability inclusion. She has worked hard to enhance inclusivity at the project and organizational level

Rose majorly supports youth in Agribusiness, youth who make money through agriculture and agriculture-related businesses. Since 2019, Rose has continuously supported rural entrepreneurs with mentoring support programs, access to finance and business development skills that has transformed young people’s mindset and contributed to business resilience.

Rose will join the Access to Finance session at our Global Summit in the Hague.

Director Google.org - Europe, Middle East & AfricaSessions:

Rowan Barnett leads Google.org in Europe, Middle East and Africa. As a data-driven, human-focused philanthropy powered by Google, he oversees Google’s philanthropic funding, product donations and employee giving and volunteering in the region, supporting innovative nonprofits using technology to tackle complex global challenges and create more opportunity for everyone.

In his previous roles at Google, he also led Google.org’s philanthropy across Asia Pacific as well as Google for Startups efforts to enable access to the tech ecosystem for diverse and underrepresented entrepreneurs and social innovators.

CEO Youth Business SpainSessions:
  • Breakfast session (day 2) - The Better Entrepreneurship Policy Tool

Sara is the CEO of our Spanish member Youth Business Spain and an expert in strategic planning, alliance building, and results-based management. She has more than 15 years of international work experience, including at the European Union’s programme for the promotion of social cohesion in Latin America.

Sara will be leading a breakfast session on The Better Entrepreneurship Policy Tool on day 2 of our Global Summit.

Co-Founder InkDot, South AfricaSessions:
  • Afternoon session - day 2: Inclusivity Toolkit

Sarah is co-founder of the innovation consultancy InkDot and an award-winning organisation development practitioner, with 12 years of experience in leading internal culture transformation and strengthening the health and effectiveness of organisations. 

In innovation processes, her focus is on demystifying innovation and equipping people with the mindsets, behaviours, and competencies necessary to remain real and relevant in an increasingly complex world. She is passionate about the intersection of innovation and inclusivity and has co-created YBI’s Inclusivity Toolkit. 

Sarah will be co-facilitating the Inclusivity Toolkit session on day 2 of our Global Summit. 

Co-Founder InkDot, MozambiqueSessions:
  • Afternoon session - day 2: Inclusivity Toolkit

Sérgio is co-founder of the innovation consultancy InkDot. In the last two decades, he has worked on a variety of projects and in diverse industries and geographies, often with a focus on social innovation and design research.  

In addition to his consulting experience, Sérgio also trains and supports entrepreneurs and founders in human centred design and customer experience, with a focus on making these concepts tangible and practical within local markets and contexts. 

Sérgio will be co-facilitating the Inclusivity Toolkit session on day 2 of our Global Summit. 

General Manager Youth Business Trinidad and TobagoSessions:
  • Master of Ceremonies - day 1

Shedron has been with Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago for the past 13 years, on its quest to empower young entrepreneurs to build profitable and sustainable businesses. He has co-led the creation of Youth Business Caribbean’s training curriculum on entrepreneurship development, which utilizes techniques such as, Effectuation, Design Thinking and the Business Model Canvas. Shedron is passionate about connecting innovation and the building blocks of businesses to adapt to the ever-changing world. His personal mantra isThere are too many people, looking for a better life, and not enough looking to make life better”.

Deputy Director, Economic Empowerment, Africa & South Asia Sightsavers, UKSessions:
  • Panel: Inclusive Entrepreneurship for Young People with Disabilities

Simon Brown is Deputy Director, Economic Empowerment in Sightsavers’ Programme Strategy & Development team, leading the design and implementation of pan-disability formal employment programmes across Africa and South Asia. He started his journey in the development sector as an organisational development advisor and then country director of Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) in various Asian and the Pacific countries, including China, India and Bangladesh. Simon joined Sightsavers in 2019, after returning to the UK. He is passionate about evidencing how labour markets can adapt to be inclusive of people with disabilities, and about building collaborative public-private partnerships to lead the change.

Simon will join the panel on inclusive entrepreneurship for young people with disabilities at our Global Summit.

 

Founder MrMoneyJar, UKSessions:
  • Opening, Awards host & Judge for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award

Timi Merriman-Johnson is an award-winning financial content creator, podcaster, author and founder of Mr MoneyJar, a UK-based financial education company.

Mr MoneyJar offers accessible, practical financial guidance, through digital content, events and 121 coaching, and has been featured on the BBC, LadBible and Sky News.

Timi is an ambassador at National Numeracy, an independent UK charity that promotes the importance of numeracy, and creates educational content for all, covering topics such as budgeting, saving, getting on the property ladder and investing.

Timi is also the host of The Mr MoneyJar Show, a weekly podcast, featuring individuals and organisations who are using money to create a positive impact.

Timi will be a speaker at the Global Summit opening and host our awards ceremony as well as being one of the judges for the Global Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

Entrepreneurship Program Director Habitat Association, TurkeySessions:
  • Breakout session: Inclusivity Toolkit

Tuğba is Entrepreneurship Program Director at Habitat Association, YBI’s member in Turkey. In her role, she is responsible for the development and management of multi-stakeholder projects with the private sector, public sector, and NGOs in the fields of sustainable development, digital skills development, and entrepreneurship. In addition, she is a member of the International Relations Commission, and develops and conducts various procedures within the international network.

Tuğba is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Design at Kadir Has University and continuing her studies on children’s rights and public space.

Tuğba will join the breakout session on the inclusivity toolkit at our Global Summit.

Program Manager IKEA FoundationSessions:
  • Decent Work Panel

Vandana Verma is Program Manager at IKEA Foundation’s Employment and Entrepreneurship portfolio.   

Vandana has been responsible for leading development programmes aimed at improving the lives of millions of children and women in developing countries, with particular focus on Asia.  She is keenly involved in fostering new and innovative thinking in development initiatives.   

Vandana will join the Decent Work panel at our Global Summit.  

The Handbook