Directory of Organizations and Agencies

that Support Youth Entrepreneurs, Age 15 – 30,

in Latin America and the Caribbean

The Youth Development and Outreach Program of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB YOUTH) and the Young Americas Business Trust (YABT), with the Inter-American Agency for Cooperation and Development of the Organization of American States (OAS), are collaborating to prepare a Directory of Organizations and Agencies that Support Youth Entrepreneurs, Age 15 – 30, in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The directory (Part I) will contain contact information and a basic description of public, private and non-governmental sector programs that help youth acquire entrepreneurial and business skills, ranging from those pertaining to personal development to financial management. The purpose of the directory is to compile this information and disseminate it among those interested in youth entrepreneurship in the Americas, including youth entrepreneurs and international organizations. The directory will also be useful for organizations, as a means to make their programs known and to provide them with contact information of other professionals working in this area. This could be the basis for the creation of a future cooperation network, which reaches across the Americas.

This directory will be available in both printed and electronic forms in early 2004. We invite those working in this field to register their organizations. We would also appreciate your circulating this information to other organizations you may know that would also be interested and eligible to be included in the directory.

We would also appreciate your taking part in a survey (Part II) to help us better understand the factors that make for successful programs. This information will not be included in the directory, but will be used for reference purposes and kept confidential.

Organizations working with young entrepreneurs can register at:

http://www.ybiz.net/ybiz_org_form.asp.

Young entrepreneurs or interested young people can register at:

http://www.ybiz.net/ybiz_entr_form.asp

To be able to do this quickly, registration is only available through the Internet at these addresses. If you have questions or need additional information, please contact Rafael Pinto at ybiz2@oas.org, 202/458-3512, or Luciano Freitas at ybiz@oas.org, 202/458-3575, at YABT.

This project is part of a series of exciting initiatives that will begin in 2004, including research, forums, and conferences. Registering now in our database will keep you informed of future activities.

Thank you very much,

Inter-American Development Bank Young Americas Business Trust

Elena Suarez, Chief, Special Projects Roy Thomasson

External Relations Division Chief Executive Officer