Young people in rural communities have limited employment opportunities. Entrepreneurship can offer a viable and sustainable method for generating income and increasing productivity and competitiveness in rural areas, especially for young people and other vulnerable population groups (e.g. people with disabilities, women, ex-prisoners, veterans). The Young Rural Entrepreneurs (Jóvenes Rurales Emprendedores) aimed to promote rural entrepreneurship among youth from low socio-economic backgrounds between the ages of 16 and 25 years old in Colombia.
Young Rural Entrepreneurs – Colombia
Abstract
Young Rural Entrepreneurs was a business training programme offered by the National Training Service (Servicio Nacional de Aprendizaje; SENA), a national public institution in Colombia. The programme sought to address un- and under-employment of low-income youth aged 16‑25 in rural areas by providing training in strategic areas (e.g. agriculture, livestock, fishing, agro‑industrial, commercial and service areas), increasing their employability, and strengthening their entrepreneurial skills.
Training programmes offered were organised at the municipal level. Courses were developed in partnership with local actors (e.g. unions, business associations) and content was tailored to the needs of each municipality. Courses were typically 5‑6 months long. The programme ran from 2003 to 2013, operating through SENA vocational centres in 167 municipalities at the onset. By 2008, the programme was in 1 091 municipalities and had 257 000 graduates. In 2009, there was a change in the programme and a greater emphasis was placed on entrepreneurship until it ended in 2013. While most of the entrepreneurship training courses focussed on supporting businesses in the agricultural and food preparation sectors, all types of businesses were supported. Training covered business management, including marketing, managing employees and accessing external finance.
Evaluation findings show that participating in JRE had a positive impact on youth entrepreneurship as participants were between 75% and 88% more likely to be carrying out procedures to set up a business. Participating in the programme also increased the probability of hiring personnel by more than 50%. The evaluation also found that JRE‑supported businesses had more customers and that the young entrepreneurs had more business knowledge and larger networks, including relationship with workers, suppliers and partners. Moreover, the programme also significantly contributed to the likelihood of being employed (14% more likely than the control group) as well as improved hourly labour income (by COP 5 000, equal to EUR 1.18). However, there was no significant effect on employment quality, access to financing, use of accounting and relationship with clients.
Further reading
[1] Steiner, R. et al. (2010), Evaluación de impacto del programa jóvenes rurales emprendedores del servicio nacional de aprendizaje – SENA, Fedesarrollo, https://www.repository.fedesarrollo.org.co/bitstream/handle/11445/350/Repor_Agosto_2010_Steiner_et_al.pdf.
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