Youth Innovation Fund programme set for May 22 launch 

Young people across Guyana will soon benefit from the Youth Innovation Fund (YIF), which is set to be launched on May 22 at Umana Yana. This programme will serve as an opportunity to help harness the creative ideas of young people.

The $50 million YIF programme was introduced in the 2017 National Budget.

Director of Youth, Melissa Carmichael said the high unemployment rates among youths spurred the creation of the project. It aims to push youths toward entrepreneurship.

“Young people will put up their proposals in terms of what idea they may have that might be able to foster development in their community, your school or by extension Guyana. We are hoping that they bring forward these proposals and these proposals, of course, will be selected by a panel through the Ministry of Education, Department of Culture, Youth and Sport,” the Youth Director was quoted as saying in a Government Information Agency (GINA) report. The YIF will be accessible across all the regions. Carmichael highlighted that the Ministry’s representatives will be stationed in each region to assist participants with their proposals.

The Youth Director said she was optimistic that there would be a large number of applications from young people. However, she said the Ministry has not decided on the number of persons who will be selected for the programme.

Minister within the Education Ministry Nicolette Henry said that in keeping with the Government’s ‘green agenda’, the programme will focus on solutions for the reduction of fossil fuel usage and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). According to the GINA report, the programme has an out-of-school and in-school component.