Five Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) Asia 2008 Fellows to receive USD75,000 start-up funding. Wednesday 22 Apr 2009

Youth Social Enterprise Initiative (YSEI) is pleased to announce its Asia 2008 Start-up Stage fellows.

The five young social entrepreneurs who have been selected from the YSEI Asia 2008 programme have showed great commitment towards realising their business idea. In addition, Cyril Devan from Malaysia, Stephanie Caragos and Khristine Lopez, both from the Philippines, Ajay Shakya from India, and Thailand’s Patipat Susumpow have successfully demonstrated competence in building viable social enterprises through their participation in YSEI which is a GKP Global Partnership Programme.

Apart from receiving valuable knowledge through training and mentorship from seasoned entrepreneurs, as well as gaining access to networking opportunities and peer-to-peer support, these five fellows competed with 14 others in the 2008 programme to receive step-by-step funding to nurture their social enterprises.

Ten of the 19 fellows had each received USD10,000 in seed funding earlier. Devan, Caragos, Lopez, Shakya and Susumpow will now each receive a further USD15,000 scaleup funding to grow their fledging businesses.

The YSEI Asia 2008 programme, initiatied in May 2008, embodies the second phase of YSEI which was launched in 2006.

A bit about the Fellows

Elevyn, Cyril Devan, Malaysia

Artisans in remote areas of Malaysia often need to resort to middlemen, who drain most of their margins. To generate income on a fair trade basis, Elevyn is using an innovative, web 2.0-based, online platform that links the selling of handmade products to the support of social and environmental causes.

LetIThelp, Stephanie Caragos, Philippines

LetIThelp takes on solving structural unemployment and underemployment in poor communities by providing capacity building on specific IT skills that are in market demand and match trainees to job opportunities.

Microfinancejobs, Ajay Shakya, India

Despite the expressive growth of microfinance in India, the related job opportunities and potential candidates are yet to find an alley for a quick match. Microfinancejobs developed an online jobs platform to bridge the gap between 1,500 microfinance institutions in India and 10,000 professionals who would be willing to work in microfinance field.

Mobile Telecentres, Khristine Lopez, Philippines

In metro Manila most public schools students have limited or no access to computers and Internet. Mobile Telecentre provides onsite ICT skills training and career opportunities to over 6,000 students in metro Manila by using ICT tools adapted to a 3-wheeled trike.

Open Dream, Patipat Susumpow, Thailand

Open Dream provides low-cost web and application development service to social groups and organizations by leveraging the network of social software developers for project collaboration. Their sustainability comes from channeling fees from high paying clients to subsidize the low-paying ones.

About YSEI

YSEI is a high-engagement social venture program for emerging young social entrepreneurs in developing countries. Through its Fellowship Programme, YSEI provides young social entrepreneurs with support in four key areas:

Knowledge: Essential development knowledge & tools on social entrepreneurship

Financing: Up to USD 60,000 from Seed, Start Up and Scale Up stages for only 2 ventures

Mentorship: Technical consulting through mentorship

Networks: Access to diverse networks

Visit YSEI here