What does Ye! being with ITC mean for you?
6 December 2019

What does Ye! being with ITC mean for you?

We are thrilled to share that Ye! is now part of the International Trade Centre. As of 28th November 2019 Ye! is now housed within ITC’s Youth and Trade programme. You can view the official press release here.

So, what does ITC do actually?

Established in 1964, the International Trade Centre (ITC) is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. The International Trade Centre (ITC) is the only development agency that is fully dedicated to supporting the internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

This means that the agency enables SMEs in developing and emerging economies to become more competitive and connect to international markets for trade and investment, thus raising incomes and creating job opportunities, especially for women, young people, and poor communities.
 

What’s the big picture?

ITC's mission is to foster inclusive and sustainable economic development, and contribute to achieving the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development. ITC works towards creating ‘trade impact for good’.

Within ITC there exist a number of programmes- Ye! will be housed within the Youth & Trade Programme which has 3 core aims:

  1. To strengthen the capacities of institutions which support young entrepreneurs and enhance global trade
  2. Build smarter entrepreneurs by providing tools specifically designed for and adapted to the needs of youth
  3. Build stronger entrepreneurs by providing access to information and finance making youth-led enterprises more resilient and better equipped to compete on the international stage

To facilitate the transition of Ye! to ITC, we will be revamping the existing Ye! platform to connect it to the suite of support services, tools and projects offered by ITC. However, before this transition is complete, we want to share with you a little more about these tools and to link you to the ongoing projects and opportunities so you can already get involved! See below and start connecting!

Online Offerings

Market Analysis Tools: A key challenge for exporters is the scarcity of reliable trade information on markets. The International Trade Centre has developed a suite of online tools to make global trade more transparent and facilitate access to new markets: Trade Map, Market Access Map, Investment Map, Export Potential Map, Procurement Map and Trade Competitiveness Map.

SheTrades: An online platform just for women entrepreneurs of any age. Through the SheTrades platform women entrepreneurs can:

SME Trade Academy: The SME Trade Academy offers a series of e-Learning modules which are specially tailored to the needs of SMEs. The courses are free and available to all youth entrepreneurs. Just sign up and begin learning!

Sustainability Map: The platform provides concrete and scalable tools, technical assistance and advisory services for every stage of the value chain, from micro, small and medium sized enterprises in developing countries to retailers and brands in developed markets.

Offline Projects

The Ethical Fashion Initiative: The Ethical Fashion Initiative connects some of the world’s most marginalised artisans in Kenya, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, Mali and Haiti to the fashion industry’s top talents, for mutual benefit. For fashion brands it is an opportunity to gain access to unique artisanal skills and authentic handmade products while also doing good. For the artisans, the connection gives them access to a market that values their skills and products, and is an opportunity to make a living from their savoir-faire.

Integra Project, Guinea: Specifically for entrepreneurs in Guinea so we will explain in French- Le Programme d’appui à l’intégration socio-économique des jeunes (INTEGRA) travaille à la création d’activités rémunératrices et d’emplois durables pour la jeunesse guinéenne. Initiative conjointe du Gouvernement guinéen et de l’Union européenne (UE), INTEGRA s’inscrit dans le contexte du Fonds fiduciaire de la Valette en faveur de la réduction des migrations irrégulières vers l’Europe. A ce titre, INTEGRA contribuera à la prévention et à la limitation de la migration irrégulière en soutenant l’insertion socio-professionnelle des jeunes Guinéens et la réintégration des migrants de retour.

JSF Programme, The Gambia: The International trade Centre (ITC) and the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF) are jointly implementing the project “Jobs, Skills and Finance (JSF) for Women and Youth in The Gambia Programme” under the tutelage of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs of The Gambia. The JSF Programme is funded by the European Union (EU) and aims to contribute in stabilizing the economic, social and security situation of the country during the democratic transition by facilitating social inclusion and employment of the youth and women, with a specific emphasis on promoting gender equality and addressing climate change.

Youth Empowerment Project, The Gambia (YEP): YEP addresses the economic root causes of irregular migration by supporting youth employment and entrepreneurship. The project takes a market-led approach to improving the skills and employability of potential and returning migrants according to demands of the job market and simultaneously creating employment opportunities along Gambian value chains. 

Now that you're all caught up we encourage you to already get engaged to enhance your enterprising skills. Not sure how? Send us an email at ye@yecommunity.com and we are happy to support.

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