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PASADENA, Md. (15 January 2006) - As part of its strategic opportunities initiatives, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has made a $795,600 grant to the ImagineNations Group, a global alliance of social entrepreneurs, thought leaders, investors, financial institutions, global brands, media and organizations, to support the development of a detailed blueprint for youth investment strategies in 10 pilot countries over the next 15 months.

ImagineNations and its partners aim to develop an actionable and comprehensive blueprint for youth investment. It aims to significantly increase levels of societal investment in the entrepreneurship and employment of a generation of young people globally who are able to contribute to the improved financial and human development of their respective communities and countries. The pilot countries under consideration include: Bangladesh, Bolivia, Indonesia, Israel, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Palestine and Zambia.

“We are thrilled that the Gates Foundation has joined us to play a supportive role in this bold and exciting process that we anticipate will have key impacts on global youth employment,” said Rick Little, president and CEO of ImagineNations. “With the Gates Foundation support and our other partners, we intend to empower a new generation of successful young entrepreneurs in the developing world by providing them with the financial resources, training and business coaching they need to start micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized businesses. Our intention is that these enterprises and businesses will then serve as engines of growth and job creation in their communities and countries, empowering millions of young people with new hope, opportunity and livelihood.”

“The work of ImagineNations is a creative example of what can be done to harness the untapped potential of young people,” said Sylvia Mathews, COO and executive director of strategic opportunities at the Gates Foundation. “We are pleased to be supporting the work of ImagineNations as they develop models for providing economic opportunity to millions of young people who are currently marginalized or excluded from the formal and informal economy.”

The blueprint will frame different models and strategies for local partnerships, providing young people (ages 15-29) in each pilot country with improved access to training and capital, at scale, including a full range of microfinance, small and medium-sized enterprise investments, loan guarantees and other financial products and services. The goal is that these strategies will also create incentives for larger companies to hire young people or to recruit them as interns and apprentices, as well as to spur investments in small and medium-sized enterprises, to expand and to engage young people in the process.

Upon completion of the strategies in late 2006, fully actionable youth investment plans will be ready to be implemented in pilot countries, investments will be identified and commitments will be finalized with partners in hand. The development of an actionable and comprehensive blueprint will encourage a significant increase in levels of societal investment in the entrepreneurship and employment of young people and will guide the pilot countries to support a generation of successful young entrepreneurs.

“The blueprint youth investment initiative is an urgent and necessary ‘bottom-up’ strategy that brings together multi-sector partners together to change the lives of millions of young people and to create a new global financial system that supports these young entrepreneurs in every region of the globe,” said Alan Fleischmann, managing director of ImagineNations. “This support from the Gates Foundation, as well as our work with other partners from the private, civil and the public sector, can only help us achieve this daunting goal.”
 
About the ImagineNationsT Group
 
The ImagineNationsT Group is a global alliance of social entrepreneurs, thought leaders, investors, financial institutions, global brands, media and organizations-all working together with and for young people to inspire positive change in society. ImagineNations and its partners aim to empower and inspire a new generation of successful young entrepreneurs in the developing world by providing them with financial resources, training and business development services they need to start micro-enterprises and small businesses, which will, in turn, serve as engines of growth and job creation in their communities and countries. In partnership with leaders from different sectors, ImagineNations is developing an actionable and comprehensive blueprint for youth investment that will significantly increase levels of societal investment in the entrepreneurship and employment of young people and that will guide pilots and replicable financial models and instruments.