Youth Venture

Ashoka launched Youth Venture in 1996 in the U.S. with the vision that everyone in society could take initiative and address social needs, rather than looking to the elite few who lead today. With so many more people taking initiative, imagine how many more problems we could solve! Young people are critical to this vision, because we believe that you have to start taking initiative when you’re young. The youth years are an exciting time of exploring different possibilities to determine your own path through life. If you have an experience of taking initiative at a young age, it is likely that this will prepare you to lead and create positive change throughout your life.

It is clear that any young person who has an idea for improving his or her community, leads a team, launches a venture and contributes something lasting will emerge transformed from such an experience. Young “Venturers” will know that they are capable of leading and creating change, and it is likely that they will take initiative again and again over a lifetime.

Youth Venture inspires and invests in teams of young people to design and launch their own lasting social ventures, enabling them to have this transformative experience of leading positive social change. We provide coaching, resources, and seed funding to help these teams launch, lead and grow their Ventures. Youth Venture, which is launching in India in 2007, works with a vibrant fellowship of young people in eleven countries on five different continents and we’re expanding each year. As we invest in Venturers around the world, we connect them into a powerful global network of young changemakers.

Our Venturers start businesses, civil society organizations and informal programs that address all kinds of social issues, including poverty, health, the elderly, the environment, education, diversity issues, and the arts. Youth Venture helps our Venturers through this process of designing and launching their ventures, providing guidance, how-to’s, and a process for designing and pitching a venture idea.

When the Venture team is ready to launch, Youth Venture offers:

• Seed funding (up to INR 10,000 in India)
• Guidance, tools and support
• Allies who provide advice, mentoring and expertise
• A supportive network of fellow Youth Venturers
• Identity as part of movement of young changemakers

After the team has launched, Youth Venture works to stay continually involved with the team. Youth Venture also connects Venturers into a fellowship of like-minded young people, helping them see that they are part of something bigger, catalyzing our movement. This website will help us with our mission of building a global community of Venturers.