The Enterprise Generator was developed to support the YES country networks in building capacity for youth employment and entrepreneurship programs. The Enterprise Generator program will set up entrepreneurship education centres in local universities/institutes and work with youth leaders to prepare them to understand their country policies and donor commitments, and build partnership for entrepreneurship project design and implementation. 

The first enterprise generator is being piloted in Mali in partnership with the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The first two projects of the Mali Generator are to:

 (1) Organize the first YES Mali Summit in Feb. 2012 that will include a full day of programming focused on engaging youth leaders as entrepreneurial nation builders. The Summit is being organized to identify and recruit fifty youth leaders to be the Generator’s first students. 

(2) Deliver a one year Institute on Social Entrepreneurship to 50 Mali youth leaders starting in February 2011. The Institute will include a twelve-month project internship and training curriculum that uses a “vision, commitment, action/transformation” model to build the capacity of trainees. The training will include a three week intensive based on classroom learning and group activities. Following the three week intensive participants will complete nine month, in-country internships.