THE U.N. Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) and Shenzhen Youth Federation on Saturday jointly launched a program aiming to train 10,000 young entrepreneurs in developing countries, with an emphasis on Africa’s young people.

At the Youth Climate Summit held at the U.N. headquarters in New York City, the United States, Jorge Chediek, director of UNOSSC, and Chen Daixing, member of the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Youth Federation from China, made the announcement of 10,000 Youth Entrepreneurs for the South, or YES.

Chediek said YES will address climate action through innovation by supporting young entrepreneurs who are tackling climate change.

He said the program will support the development and adoption of green and renewable technologies, foster resilience among smallholder entrepreneurs against climate change, and support initiatives that help reduce carbon emissions.

For his part, Chen said in the past 40 years, young people and entrepreneurs were the main force behind Shenzhen’s fast transformation from a fishing village to a technology center.

He said Shenzhen Youth Federation can mobilize a vast pool of successful Chinese technologies and entrepreneurs to support their African counterparts’ endeavors.

Shenzhen can provide the United Nations with “Chinese wisdom” in its efforts to promote sustainable development, Chen added.

According to Chediek, the YES program will provide “one-stop shop” support to emerging and established youth entrepreneurs from developing countries.

It aims to help train 10,000 youth entrepreneurs in five years with increased knowledge and enhanced skills on entrepreneurship, finance, innovation, and digital technologies, he said, adding that the program plans to fund 100 innovative development solutions and business ideas.

YES is the entrepreneurship pillar developed under the 2017 UNOSSC Youth4South Advanced Youth Leadership Program, which has been developed as an umbrella facility that aims to facilitate capacity development for established youth leaders from developing countries to learn and adapt South-South and triangular cooperation knowledge and tools.

Chediek said that UNOSSC and Shenzhen Youth Federation developed YES with support from the African Union Commission, Economic Community of West African States, and the U.N. secretary general’s youth envoy office.

(Xinhua)