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Youth Economic Dynamism

This project aimed to consolidate entrepreneurial skills so that young people can increase their income through dyanmic and sustainable businesses. In El Salvador, as in other countries in the region, the alternatives for the socio-economic development of the youth are quite limited. This situation is exacerbated in rural and suburban areas, where 1 in 4 young people neither work nor study and where 4 out of every 10 young people that have opportunities to work, are women. In 2017, Swisscontact and Plan International thus signed an agreement to jointly design and manage projects that benefits this target group. 
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Departament of La Libertad, El Salvador
13.6817661
-89.3606298
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Department of Chalatenango, El Salvador
14.1916648
-89.1705998
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Department of San Salvador, El Salvador
13.7739997
-89.20867729999999
El Salvador
Project duration
2018 - 2020
Financed by
  • Medicor Foundation

The project

In 2018, the first results began to be felt: Plan International El Salvador implemented an extension of a project called Youth Employment Solutions (YES for its acronym in English) in 2011. This project’s aim was to improve the living conditions of the young population through (self-)employment. Swisscontact was responsible for the implementation of the aspect of “Self-Employment Promotion”.

The project improved the social fabric, as well as the economic and productive conditions of young Salvadorans by honing their skills and promoting economic empowerment through employment and self-employment. Furthermore, it also addressed the knowledge gap that young men and women had with regards to setting up companies. To this end, 3 training curricula were developed and institutionalised: entrepreneurship development, green businesses and sustainable agriculture. 

The main activities developed were:

  • Analysis of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem of El Salvador
  • Value Chain Analysis to identify business opportunities in the department of Chalatenango
  • Design and implementation of training courses for the development of entrepreneurship, green businesses and sustainable agriculture
  • Preparation of a support program for businesses which have operated for over a year
  • Analysis of the supply and demand of financial products for businesses which have operated for over a year

Objectives of the project

  1. Training in gender-sensitive life skills: building self-esteem and confidence, building life plans and problem solving.
  2. Technical training: With the purpose of providing the necessary skills and tools to young women and men so they can run successful businesses.
  3. Business incubation: Training in business development and management for young women and men to achieve sustainability, profitability and growth.

Project partners

  • Plan International El Salvador (lead executive consortium partner)
  • Salvadoran Institute of Professional Training INSAFORP
  • Municipal Town Halls of San Salvador: Panchimalco, Santiago Texacuangos
  • Municipal Town Halls of the departments of Chalatenango: San Ignacio y la Palma

Results

  • 2 value chains prioritised for the design of training programs
  • 3 training curricula developed and institutionalised in INSAFORP
  • Service model for ventures in previous phases (face-to-face and virtual)
  • 90 young people apply the complementary technical knowledge acquired with consolidated business models
  • Alliance with 3 financial institutions for the consolidation of ventures
  • 19 young people advised and bolstered in financial education
  • 14 young people with access to traditional and non-traditional financial services
  • Average increase in sales of 28% during the last 18 months