YCI - Youth Challenge International

Purpose

This project supports 310 volunteer placements, and aims to improve the economic and/or social well-being of the poorest, most marginalized and vulnerable people, particularly women and girls, in developing countries, with a view to contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals. In addition to increasing engagement of Canadians in international development and key global issues, this project aims to increase the performance of developing country partners to deliver more inclusive, innovative and environmentally sustainable development initiatives that advance gender equality. The project responds to the needs identified by young women in the project countries, and is designed to foster and create innovative solutions for a more equitable and prosperous economy. The project addresses the opportunity for small and medium enterprises to have lasting social impact, while also creating profit for the enterprise owners. The project also targets a particularly marginalized population, particularly young women, and through collaborating with local partners, catalyzes a social innovation ecosystem and provides aspiring and established young, women social entrepreneurs access to training and business development services, which aim to allow them to create businesses with a social impact. Project activities include: (1) recruiting and training qualified Canadian volunteers; (2) developing, implementing and monitoring partner sustainability plans with a focus on inclusive, innovative and environmentally sustainable development initiatives; (3) providing technical assistance for partner organizations to support young women's social venture start-ups and growth, and to create and measure the social and environmental impact of their business activities; (4) building young women’s competencies in preparing a business idea to launch using best practice tools adapted to meet the needs of young social innovators; (5) establishing the HerStart Catalyst Fund to provide access to capital for young women’s social ventures; and (6) implementing outreach activities with a focus on global issues by Canadian volunteers to increase awareness among Canadians.