Bangladesh Youth Enterprise Advice and Helpcentre (BYEAH), an organisation helping young prospective entrepreneurs to start their own businesses, will support with loans to 50 young entrepreneurs this year. The loan will come from SME Foundation, Mutual Trust Bank and Plan Bangladesh.

The selected entrepreneurs who want to expand their own businesses will receive easy term loans from SME Foundation via Mutual Trust Bank. BYEAH will provide training and support services to the youths.

The decision came at a closing ceremony titled “Outreach to Young Entrepreneurs 2012,” organised by BYEAH on Saturday at a city hotel, where 70 short listed entrepreneurs and mentors were invited.

With the support of Plan Bangladesh, following a six week long outreach activity by BYEAH, over 70 entrepreneurs were short-listed with assistance from several organisations, including Team Engine, UCEP, The Hunger Project, British Council and Care Bangladesh.

A total of 50 young entrepreneurs will be chosen for BYEAH’s 2012 youth business support programme.

Syed Rezwanul Kabir, managing director and Chief executive officer of SME Foundation, said the foundation provides assistance to  entrepreneurs get finance and developing skills.

“We try to address their needs so that they can go where they have potential to go. We work on four Es—Entrepreneur, Enterprise, Employment and Empowerment,” he said.

BYEAH follows the business model of Youth Business International (YBI), an international charity organisation established by the Royal Highness, the Prince of Wales in 2000 to support the disadvantaged youths across the globe.

BYEAH has been working to change lives in Bangladesh since 2009 and in 2010 and 2011, BYEAH had supported 12 youth enterprises, which in turn created over 400 jobs in the community.

BYEAH also recruited 15 mentors during this period and has established connections with several organisations that will continue with the recruitment over the next few weeks.

These mentors are business professionals with experience in running their own businesses and are eager to help the new entrepreneurs, said Rubaiya Ahmad, BYEAH  executive director.

The Independent/Bangladesh/ 24th June 2012