The ECOWAS Youth Economic and Leadership Forum (EYELF) is a platform that will bring together young and aspiring entrepreneurs, business leaders, government’s, policymakers and investors to support the growth of new and existing enterprises and to also demonstrate ECOWAS leaders’ continued commitment to fostering entrepreneurship and economic opportunities for the youth and developing visionary leaders for West Africa. The forum also seeks to create opportunities for young people to interact, create partnerships, build relationships and share entrepreneurial experiences/ideas and to inspire new generations of innovators to choose entrepreneurship as a profession and also increase access to capital for young entrepreneurs in West Africa.
VISION
The vision of this forum is to form a sustainable and continuous partnership with society and relevant stakeholders, to develop a generation of young entrepreneurs and visionary leaders for West Africa.
AIMS/ OBJECTIVES
1. Create opportunities for young people to engage development partners and other stakeholders /institutions for job creation for economic transformation and sustainable development.
2. Develop young entrepreneurs, visionary leaders and promote a sense of social responsibility among young people.
3. Promote and support initiatives and programs promoting entrepreneurship in West Africa focusing on generating opportunities for the youth and increasing access to capital for entrepreneurs.
4. Challenge the youth to develop the desire for creativity, innovation and self-discovery to help improve the quality of their lives and the development of the ECOWAS sub-region.