IFC
Nia Sarinastiti
Phone :+(62-21) 52993134
Cell: +(62) 811 856556
Email: nsarinastiti@ifc.org

IBL
Yanti Koestoer
Phone: + (62-21) 5202530/33
Email: yanti.koestoer@ibl.or.id


Jakarta, January 19, 2006—The International Finance Corporation, the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, today announced an agreement with Indonesia Business Links to develop and expand the Young Entrepreneurs Start-Up (YES!) program. IFC will support IBL’s technical assistance to the program through a $96,000 grant.

Support for the YES! Program is part of a broader strategy to help innovative programs and businesses building sustainable social enterprises. “This agreement will enable the YES! Program to provide targeted technical assistance to an increasing number of promising businesses owned and managed by youth. It will help the program team build the infrastructure necessary for it to become a sustainable, national program,” IFC’s Grassroots Business Initiative Director Harold Rosen said.  The program leverages the lessons and experiences of similar IFC Grassroots Business Initiative youth and informal enterprise development programs in Africa and India.

"Support for small start-ups was a missing link in the chain of solutions provided by IFC to Indonesia's private sector.  Through investments, technical assistance, and partnerships, IFC has become the leading multilateral institution supporting the country’s private sector, " said German Vegarra, IFC Country Manager for Indonesia.

“This agreement will enable the YES! Program to meet more effectively its objective of driving youth entrepreneurship as a means of increasing employment for this important sector of our society,” said Indonesia Business Link’s Executive Director, Yanti Koestoer.

The Indonesia Business Links is a private, not-for-profit foundation that was established in the wake of the country’s economic crisis.  A major aim of the organization is to contribute to the creation of sound and ethical business practices in the country and to strengthen the capacity of its strategic partners, namely Indonesian small and medium enterprises.  Founded by prominent business leaders in Indonesia in 1999, the organization is an affiliate of the Prince of Wales International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF).  The IBL’s YES! Program seeks to help young people in Indonesia start and manage their own businesses through access to capital, mentoring, and technical assistance. Established in 2003, the program was jointly initiated by Shell, Standard Chartered Bank, McKinsey and Company, Progressio Indonesia, and IBL.  The current program consists of three main initiatives: entrepreneurship awareness building, business start-up competition, and technical assistance to selected start-up businesses owned and managed by youth.

IFC’s Grassroots Business Initiative was established in May 2004 to support innovative businesses that create sustainable economic opportunities for poor and marginalized people.  The businesses its supports provide income, employment, and training for disadvantaged people, bridging the gap to the global marketplace.  GBI aims to have a catalytic impact on this emerging sector, building partnerships with like-minded groups and leveraging its position in the World Bank Group.  At the business level, GBI provides a package of funding and technical assistance that strengthens grassroots business organizations, thereby expanding their impact at the grassroots level and leading to replication, scaling-up, and new opportunities.  The GBI uses this on-the-ground experience to inform its broader activities that support intermediaries and associations serving multiple GBOs as well as the sharing of experiences and lessons learned with clients and partners.  In Indonesia, the GBI works in close collaboration with the IFC-managed Program for Eastern Indonesia SME Assistance (PENSA). It is currently supporting PENSA’s Handicraft Export Promotion Program through funding and technical assistance in the areas of enterprise development building and export promotion.

The mission of IFC is to promote sustainable private sector investment in developing and transition countries, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in the developing world, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY05, IFC has committed more than $49 billion of its own funds and arranged $24 billion in syndications for 3,319 companies in 140 developing countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.