Fundación Paraguaya’s “Emprendé Paraguay” program began in February with entrepreneurship workshops in different parts of the country. These workshops seek to train young people with entrepreneurial ideas by giving them the tools so that they can carry out their business idea completely free of charge.

The workshops began in the cities of Asunción, Encarnación, Capiibary, Ciudad de Este and Coronel Oviedo, with trainings that consist of 20 hours of face-to-face classes, divided into 6 modules, where participants work soft and hard skills, through a participatory and experiential methodology.

In addition to the trainings, the students who complete the workshops have the possibility to access the Mentoring program, where the young entrepreneur is assisted by a volunteer mentor for one year. This mentor is a successful person in the field of business, who has the will and a lot of experience to support the young entrepreneur.

The program also offers financing to young people who wish to have initial capital to start their business, with the benefit that these loans will be appropriate to the entrepreneur’s need.

It is estimated that 20,000,000 young people in Latin America do not study or work due in large part to frustration and discouragement due to lack of opportunities in the labor market; 6 out of 10 young people who get a job are forced to accept it in the informal sector, which generally implies poor working conditions, without adequate protection or rights with low wages and low productivity.

This situation generates very high levels of vulnerability for millions of young people and their families. In contrast, Latin American youth have never given up and have always found themselves creative, eager to improve their personal situation and that of their community.

The Inter-American Development Bank, the Fundación Paraguaya and the Youth Business International came together to face this reality and promote “Emprendé Paraguay” in the country. A training opportunity for young people from 18 to 35 years of age throughout the national territory.

The mission of the program is to offer Paraguayan young people with socioeconomic disadvantages the opportunity to have their own enterprise, providing them with fundamental tools such as training, mentoring and financial resources. Thus, looking to improve their quality of life and that of their family.