Youth and Trade

Youth and Trade 

Youth-led MSMEs sit at the centre of making trade more inclusive. Youth represent a significant share of the entrepreneurial landscape and a key vehicle for translating trade opportunities into employment and income for young people. While international trade can be an important driver of economic growth and job creation, identified barriers for MSME trade also impact youth entrepreneurs. Governments can help make trade more accessible through the development and implementation of youth-responsive trade and enterprise policies, as well as by addressing the specific structural disadvantages that young entrepreneurs face when engaging in international commerce. 

Why MSMEs and Youth? 

Small businesses are at the nexus between youth and trade. With MSMEs accounting for most jobs in developing economies, they are well placed to hire local youth and provide on-the-job training. In addition, MSMEs are often established by youths taking the initiative to start their own business. However, for these small businesses to grow, young entrepreneurs must rely on building networks and connections as a critical step to access opportunities and markets. 

Youth entrepreneurs face many of the same trade challenges as other MSMEs, but also face additional and compounding obstacles. These entrepreneurs face three key challenges: access to financing, limited networks, and limited knowledge on how to grow and internationalize a business. This OECD report cites access to financial resources as a major barrier as 73% of young people (15-30 years old) reported that they do not have enough financial resources to be self-employed or that the financial risks are too great. On top of limited capital, young entrepreneurs also lack the support structures that more established entrepreneurs have had time to build, leading them to face barriers related to limited business networks, unequal access to markets, and gaps in digital infrastructure, particularly in developing economies. Networks can be of peers, mentors, and investors, and those connections are often the first step to accessing a larger market. Lastly, youth entrepreneurs also have less knowledge of business processes and potential resources to grow their business and conduct trade internationally.  

Aid for Trade programmes which increase access to financial services, close business knowledge gaps, and seek to provide quality mentorship for youth entrepreneurs, simultaneously improve the skills of young people and promote innovation and SME competitiveness for trade. This OECD report further finds that even if start-ups fail, such holistic programmes lead to stronger overall employment outcomes for youth.  

Where can policymakers access more resources? 

For more resources on youth and trade, please see: 

• The International Trade Centre’s (ITC) Youth and Trade webpage links to resources on ITC’s Youth and Trade Programme, which promotes youth entrepreneurship in developing through networks and linkages, access to opportunities, and strengthening the wider ecosystem.  

• The ITC’s Ye! community-based platform is comprised of over 50,000 young entrepreneurs and addresses the network challenge of young business leaders by connecting entrepreneurs and spreading information about available resources. 

• The ITC also runs the Youth Ecopreneur Programme (YECO), an intensive global accelerator for young entrepreneurs leading innovation in green business and sustainable solutions, offering bootcamps, e-learning, tailored coaching, expert mentorship, masterclasses, and financial support. 

• The WTO and OECD, in the Aid for Trade at a Glance 2019: Economic Diversification and Empowerment report, dedicate a full chapter to empowering youth for sustainable trade available here: CHAPTER 8 EMPOWERING YOUTH FOR SUSTAINABLE TRADE.  

• The OECD has a youth entrepreneurship webpage with related research and publications.  

• UNCTAD provides a youth webpage focused on young people’s role in trade and sustainable development, as well as the #e4youth campaign on youth entrepreneurship in the digital economy. UNCTAD and the Commonwealth Secretariat also jointly published a Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Guide to address high levels of youth joblessness in developing countries. 

• The International Labour Organization (ILO) has multiple youth-focused entrepreneurship and general MSME training programs such as Ready for Business. The ILO also offers the widely deployed Start and Improve Your Business (SIYB) training programme, a free business management training tool available to MSMEs and aspiring young  entrepreneurs globally. The ILO’s Global Programme on Financial Education serves disadvantaged and underserved populations throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, working with policy makers as well as enhancing the financial capabilities of youth, women, entrepreneurs, and MSMEs. 

• The World Bank provides resources on youth entrepreneurship through its Innovation and Entrepreneurship webpage, including the infoDev programme, which pilots programmes to accelerate the growth of startups in developing countries, publishes research on business incubation and access to finance, and promotes inclusive strategies for women, minorities, and youth. 

Where can policymakers access good practices, financing programmes, and national examples? 

• The African Development Bank (AfDB) offers several concrete financing and capacity-building instruments for youth-led MSMEs. As part of its Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy (2016-2025)—which sought to mobilize private sector, government, and civil society actors to tackle Africa’s youth unemployment crisis—the AfDB offered its Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund (YEI MDTF). In 2025, the AfDB launched its Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB) initiative, being rolled out in Liberia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, and Côte d’Ivoire, to promote private sector-led inclusive economic development by creating entrepreneurship opportunities for African entrepreneurs aged 18–35.  

• India’s Ministry of MSMEs operates the Entrepreneurship Skill Development Programme (ESDP), which provides basic and advanced entrepreneurship training to youth with the goal of promoting self-employment and technical skills.  

• European Union operates two complementary instruments directly supporting youth-led SMEs. The Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs programme is an EU-funded cross-border exchange scheme. The EU’s SME Access to Finance Initiative, implemented through the European Investment Bank, provides credit risk protection and enhanced guarantees of up to 80% on loans issued to start-ups and youth-led businesses that would otherwise lack the collateral or financial history to secure traditional financing.  

• South Africa’s National Youth Development Agency (NYDA), established by the National Youth Development Agency Act (Act 54 of 2008), offers non-repayable grants R200,000 (for agriculture and technology projects up to R250,000), with free business training, mentorship, and market linkages included. The programme targets youth aged 18 to 35 who are either running informal businesses or operating early-stage enterprises that need capital to scale.  

• United States supports youth and first-time entrepreneurs primarily through the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA’s Microloan Programme provides loans from a few hundred dollars up to $50,000 — averaging around $13,000 — designed specifically to help startups and small enterprises cover early costs, with lower loan sizes and flexible repayment terms suited to small business cash flow and youth entrepreneurs.