EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

-The Fight Against Unemployment and Under-Development  through entrepreneurship 

 At the turn of the century, Entrepreneurship remains one of oldest and most complex forms of advocacy and dialogue among NGOs working on reforming the policies and practices of entrepreneurship among developing countries. It is the only forum in which NGOs from these countries have an equal voice on broad policy formulation and implementation practices of the world's leading problems of unemployment and underdevelopment.  

As An expectant national leading network, AIFYE intends to lend itself to the kind of participation that is not normally found in the traditional major players in the field of Entrepreneurship initiatives. Yet we shall still recognize the importance of networking and dialogue with Entrepreneurship organisations from industrialised countries who themselves play an ever important role in monitoring of Basic Entrepreneurial practices among developing countries.  

With this approach, AIFYE Working will, in the next five years, develop a broad based advocacy on a variety of system wide issues pertaining to the formulation, implementation and evaluation of socio-economic activities between AIFYE members in Uganda and stakeholders from all parts of the country.  

At the heart of these efforts, will be a desire to ensure that policies developed for implementation among our members, are such that they promote and enhance socio-economic development, while protecting the environment and encouraging popular participation and good entrepreneurial practices among the young graduates and the disadvantaged youth in the Ugandan society.  

As such, the approach of AIFYE shall be to fight against policies that curtail, or as has been the case in many instances, destroy the rights of young Entrepreneurs. To be sure, the Organisation’s strongest advocacy will be targeted to fighting the undemocratic and unsustainable policies of economic adjustment put in various sectors of Uganda’s economy especially the high interests on loans from Banks (0ver 19.5%) making them inaccessible for the young emerging Entrepreneurs. Whether this is a strategy to push back policies that unleashed untold economic hardships over the years in Uganda on the Banking Sector through Customer losses, reduced interest incomes, increased taxes on banks and high Annual License fees. Or those that promoted cut backs in Banking services, education and basic health care among others, AIFYE, will take initiative in strong advocacy at the national level to protect the interests of it’s members and the various stakeholders.  

 

Its modus operandi will be to demand openness, accountability, and inclusiveness of all key stakeholders in the design of the Organisation’s policy especially as it relates to equitable and sustainable Entrepreneurial development among the young people in Uganda as they are the future to sustainable development in the Third World states.   . 

More importantly, the need to have active and wide ranging participation of the youth in designing and implementing the policies which affect them is beginning to gain currency among policy makers. Whether in macro-economic structural reform initiatives, poverty reduction strategies, social or private sector investment, the role of civil society in all of its dimensions has assumed more importance, thanks to the government of the republic of Uganda.  

It is safe to say that the emergence and growth of an entity such as AIFYE will be critical to this shift in the operational and programmatic paradigm of Entrepreneurial development among the youth.