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Project Title

APEC Sustainable Social Entrepreneurship Training (ASSET)

Project Year

2024

Project Number

HRDWG_204_2024A

Project Session

Session 2

Project Type

Standard

Project Status

Completed Project
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Project No.

HRDWG_204_2024A

Project Title

*
APEC Sustainable Social Entrepreneurship Training (ASSET)

Project Status

Completed Project

Fund Account

*
APEC Support Fund

Sub-fund

ASF: General Fund

Project Year

2024

Project Session

*
Session 2

APEC Funding

112,200

Co-funding Amount

34,487

Total Project Value

146,687

Sponsoring Forum

*
Human Resource Development Working Group (HRDWG)

Topics

Human Resources Development; Youth; Education

Committee

SOM Steering Committee on Economic and Technical Cooperation (SCE)

Other Fora Involved

Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved

 

Proposing Economy(ies)

Korea

Co-Sponsoring Economies

Chile; China; Indonesia; Malaysia; New Zealand; Philippines; Chinese Taipei; Thailand

Expected Start Date

01/02/2025

Expected Completion Date

30/06/2026

Project Proponent Name 1

Sumin Yoo

Job Title 1

Senior Program Specialist

Organization 1

Institute of APEC Collaborative Education (IACE)

Telephone 1

Not Applicable

Email 1

suminyoo99@korea.kr

Project Proponent Name 2

Isae Ryu

Job Title 2

Program Specialist

Organization 2

Institute of APEC Collaborative Education (IACE)

Telephone 2

+82537192694

Email 2

isryu@iace.re.kr

Declaration

Sumin Yoo

Project Summary

The world’s wealth is already predominantly held by wealthy corporations and advanced economies. Our project “ASSET” conducts several sessions to address issues in low-income economies. All the participants will have a 'sustainable social entrepreneurship training program' for four days and draft their own mock start-up plan for social enterprise, focusing particularly on resolving challenges related to education and social issues in sustainable ways.

ASSET supports the development of human capital and entrepreneurial capacity among youth in the APEC region, especially for developing economies. And it also enhances the capabilities of youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) within the APEC regions for employment and entrepreneurship support. This fosters the development of entrepreneurs for the next generation, particularly by forming sustainable networks to lead them toward actual entrepreneurship.

Relevance

Region

The survey results conducted by the Seoul Institute, Korea, reveal that support for youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) entrepreneurship, especially for youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) with disabilities, is still lacking, and there is a confirmed demand for the support. According to the survey, 52.6% of the respondents who are youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) with disabilities expressed interest in entrepreneurship, but over 78.9% of them are not actively preparing due to various reasons. In response, there was a positive consensus of 97.4% regarding the need for tailored entrepreneurship support programs or policies. These findings underscore the substantial need for entrepreneurship-related programs for young people, particularly those with disabilities. 

The findings are similar to the UNESCO Global Education Coalition on 14 July 2023 which supports the role of skilled young people in creating a more sustainable future by building employability, entrepreneurship, and resilience for youth. Today, 267 million young people aged 15-24 are still not engaged in any form of employment, education, or training. 

In a similar manner, according to the Survey conducted by the International Labour Organization(ILO), the unemployment rate of the youth aged 15-24 in 2024 was 12.6%. 

Above all, the "APEC Framework for Youth Education, Employment, and Entrepreneurship,(2016)" highlights a concerning trend: about 11.4% of young people in Asia-Pacific are neither working nor in education/training programs. This significant portion of disconnected youth poses a serious challenge, as their lack of engagement threatens future economic growth potential in the region. According to the 2023 statistics from the PSU (APEC Policy Support Unit) available on StatsAPEC, the labor force participation rate in the APEC region for individuals aged 15 and above is only 65%. This means that approximately 35% of the population remains unemployed. 

Therefore it is necessary to create job opportunities and prepare training programs to enhance job skills for young people. However, our program goes beyond that by aiming to strengthen entrepreneurial capabilities to help them start their own businesses. If the youth’s innovative ideas, passion, and energy are directed to the forefront of society, they will have the opportunity to contribute to the development of our whole economies. While many young people may not initially think about entrepreneurship, we aim to shift their mindset through this program and encourage them to dream of a greater future.

Furthermore, empowering the younger generation with entrepreneurial skills will reduce generational inequality and offer broader economic opportunities for all.

Eligibility and Fund Priorities
ASSET is not a program for getting young people jobs in large corporations. Teaching youth how to get employed is merely a temporary solution that does not empower them to grow autonomously. Instead, what is truly needed is nurturing a social entrepreneurial spirit and building their capacity. We will invite mentors from suitable social enterprises for each youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) team to share knowledge on challenges, opportunities, and best practices. In addition, prominent scholars or entrepreneurs will be invited as keynote speakers for the participants to learn about economies with successful youth entrepreneurship incubator programs to boost the engagement and interest of youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) in such areas. The key is providing opportunities for them to learn how to truly develop their social entrepreneurial spirit and connect it to actual entrepreneurship.

ASF funding supports projects that address the capacity-building needs of APEC developing economies. This funding supports activities such as workshops aimed at helping developing economies obtain, share, strenthen and develop knowledge. Our program is specifically focused on providing capacity building for youths (young adults aged 18 -30 years old) in developing economies, helping them acquire the skills and knowledge needed to establish social enterprises. Connecting youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) to the actual start of entrepreneurship would be beneficial in developing human capital and entrepreneurial capacity. Therefore, our program aligns perfectly with these capacity-building objectives of ASF fund and provides effective solutions tailored to the needs of APEC developing economies.

Capacity Building
As we plan to invite youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and so on, many participants will be gathered from various APEC economies. Participants acquire the mindset and practical strategies necessary to establish a social enterprise. Participants, especially from developing APEC economies, can evolve into key human resources contributing to their respective regions' advancement such as dissemination will keep the project's sustainability. For instance, the participants will present their experiences while returning to their universities. In addition, the excellent team will be invited to the international ALCoB [APEC Learning Community Builders] conference(self-funded) and get an opportunity to present in front of a global audience. Bringing together participants from diverse economies allows them to form a network that serves as the starting point for creating a larger community in the long term.

Objectives

This project aims to transform youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) perceptions of social enterprises, empowering them to engage in entrepreneurship directly, particularly by developing plans for social enterprise startups that address societal issues. By doing so, we can increase the youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) entrepreneurship rate and reduce the gap between micro, small, and medium enterprises and already successful enterprises.

It will be achieved through encouraging the youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) to prepare for the establishment of social enterprises addressing issues related to remote areas and disabilities. This project will foster sustainable growth and an inclusive spirit within the youths(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) in the Asia Pacific region.

Alignment

APEC

Through youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) exchange activities, fostering relationships among them, and social entrepreneurship, we aim for sustainable growth and a strong sense of community within APEC, aligning with the ‘APEC Connectivity Blueprint for 2015~2025’.

In addition, our active reflection on ‘The APEC HRDWG Arequipa Goals’ underscores our focus on micro, small, and medium enterprises and the paramount importance we place on equality and inclusive growth for people with disabilities or people from remote areas.

In preparing for the future, we can apply the point of striving for inclusive human resource development, as outlined in the ‘APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040’, as well as aligning with the “HRDWG Detroit Non-Binding Principles and Recommendations for Equality and Inclusion in Education, Training, and Employment”, which was reaffirmed by Ministers and Leaders in relation to the Joint Ministerial Statement of the 2023 APEC Ministerial Meeting and APEC Leaders’ 2023 Golden Gate Declaration.

Forum

Our forum (HRDWG) aims to integrate HRD into the Global Economy and foster the well-being of all individuals, thereby achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the region. The project aims to complement the aspirations of ‘promoting full and high-quality employment through skills development’ and ‘pursuing equality and inclusion’ as supported in the HRDWG 2024 Theme “Building the Bridge from the Informal to Formal Economy: Promoting Investment in Inclusive and Equitable Human Resources Development in the Asia-Pacific Region”; and Peru 2024 Host year theme Empower; Include; Grow. with priorities on “Innovation and digitalization to promote a transition to the formal and global economy” and “Sustainable growth for resilient development”.

Our program is not limited to one-time events but aims to provide direction for future initiatives, enabling participants to return to their respective economies equipped with practical entrepreneurial skills. Furthermore, the network created will endure beyond the initial program, aligning with our forum’s objectives.

Beneficiaries and Outputs

Output

1) 4-Day Workshop (with Pre-Workshop Training and Post-Workshop Field Trip)

[Purpose]

Enhance the entrepreneurship and employment capabilities of youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) in the APEC region to promote balanced development across the APEC economies. 

[Duration]

Approximately one month of Pre-workshop Training(virtual)* followed by a 4-day onsite workshop.

* Pre-workshop Training(individually) contains watching a video related with social entrepreneurship(definition, mindset etc) and writing a short summary and personal reflection on the padlet to share with the other participants. This assignment will be used to proceed the workshop more smoothly providing participants' background knowledge related to social enterprise and entrepreneurship. 

[Location]

The program will be conducted both online and offline and the offline sessions will be held in Jeju, Korea. 

[Expected Scope and Scale]

2 participants will be invited from each of the 11 travel-eligible economies. Additionally, 2 university students from each of the cooperative economies (non-travel eligible) will be invited. Each team has 5 members and approximately 8 teams will be grouped. Trainers will also be invited for each team, ensuring a minimum of 40 participants and experts. (One trainer will be assigned for each team, resulting in a total of eight trainers invited in one day. Since APEC funds can only cover a maximum of six experts per day, the costs for the remaining two will be covered through self-funding).

[Timelines]

-  Day 1: 6th May (Tue.)

08:30 - 09:00 Early Check-in & Networking 09:00 - 09:30 Registration & Material Distribution 09:30 - 12:30 Opening Ceremony

(1)  Opening / Welcome Remarks

(2)  Introduction of the First-Place Team’s Social Enterprise in 2024

(3)  Group Photo

(4)  Ice-breaker Mini Session

12:30 - 13:30 Working Lunch & Networking 13:30 - 16:00 Intensive Orientation

(1)  Ice-breaking among all participants

(2)  Team gathering & strategy planning

(3)  Case Study Discussion

16:00 - 17:30 [Speaker 1] Keynote Lecture (Professor or Social Entrepreneur)

17:30 - 18:30 Team Reflection & Discussion on Keynote Insights 

- Day 2: 7th May (Wed.)

08:30 - 09:00 Morning Briefing & Pre-Lecture Discussion 09:00 - 09:30 Registration & Quick Check-in

09:30 - 12:30 [Speaker 2] Expert Lecture (Social Enterprise Entrepreneurship Specialist) + Q&A

12:30 - 13:30 Power Lunch: Networking with Experts

13:30 - 16:00 [Speaker 2] Intensive Workshop - Hands-on Team Activities 16:00 - 17:30 Team Activity 1: Stakeholder & Root Cause Analysis

17:30 - 18:30 Rapid-Fire Pitch: Key Takeaways & Next Steps 

- Day 3: 8th May (Thu.)

08:30 - 09:00 Morning Briefing & Preparation for Mentoring Sessions 09:00 - 09:30 Registration & Last-minute Prep

09:30 - 12:30 [Trainer 1~8] Mentoring* Session 1 - Deep-dive Strategy Session

12:30 - 13:30 Lunch & Informal Peer Review

13:30 - 16:00 [Trainer 1~8] Mentoring Session 2 - Refining Business Model

16:00 - 17:30 Team Activity 2: Business Model Development & Pitch Practice

17:30 - 18:30 Wrap-up & Peer Feedback Roundtable

* We are planning to recruit mentors who are entrepreneurs who have founded social enterprises, or mid-level managers working at social enterprises. They will be responsible for reviewing the business plans prepared by the participants and providing guidance on how to make them feasible. 

- Day 4: 9th May (Fri.)

08:30 - 09:00 Morning Briefing & Goal Setting 09:00 - 09:30 Registration & Quick Touch-base

09:30 - 12:30 Team Activity 3: Prototype Creation & Preliminary Testing 12:30 - 13:30 Quick Lunch & Team Huddle

13:30 - 15:30 Team Activity 4: Business Plan Finalization & PPT Preparation

15:30 - 17:30 Team Activity 5: Promotional Video Production

17:30 - 18:00 Final Team Check-in 

-  Day 5: 10th May (Sat.) [SELF-FUNDED]

9:00 - 9:30 Submission (PPT, Promotional Video) 9:30 - 10:00 Registration

10:00 - 12:00 Final Presentation

12:00 - 13:30 Farewell Lunch

13:30 - 14:00 Closing Ceremony (1) Closing Remarks & Award

(2)  Group Photo

(3)  Post-event Survey

14:00 - 17:00 Field Visit: Workation Office or Start-up Office in Jeju

2) Summary Report

[Purpose]

The goal is to systematically document participants' activities to ensure that their efforts are preserved and available for wider audience. (The wider audience can check the document as an APEC Publication) 

[Duration]

The summary report will be completed and submitted within one month after the conclusion of the on-site activity. 

[Expected Contents]

The report will include the number of participants and details of the curriculum from the event. It will also feature the business proposals and Presentation materials submitted by participants, as well as QR codes linking to approximately 30-second promotional videos for the startups they plan to establish. Expected minimum pages are 12 pages excluding annexes. This will be an APEC Publication as written above. 

[Rough Outline]

1. Introduction

-  Background

-  Objective

-  Outcomes

2. Methodology

-  Organization

-  Evaluation

-  Beneficiaries

3. Results

-  Workshop Summary

-  Output of the Workshop : Business Proposal Summary (Presentation PPT, Promotional Video will be attached in ANNEX)

-  Survey

-  Participants' Reflection and Feedback

4. Conclusion

- Suggestions

Outcome

1) Increased knowledge and capacity for entrepreneurship: Participants will develop their capacities as social entrepreneurs. Post-event Survey will be conducted to compare results and assess how much their skills have improved. Additionally, the most outstanding teams will have the opportunity to showcase their enhanced skills by presenting at the ALCoB Conference.

2) Community Building: Our goal is ensuring the continuous maintenance of the friendship formed among participants. If the participants hold a successful incubation of actual startups, the ALCoB Facebook page will be continuously updated to facilitate even more effective community building among many people who are interested in social entreprenuership and archiving program outputs.

Beneficiaries

We will try to invite 2 youth (young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) from 11 travel- eligible economies (Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Peru, Russia, Thailand, and Viet Nam) and 10 Korean youths(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old). Also we will invite 8 youths(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) from other member economies. We expect 40 youths(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) in total. The primary criterion for participants we are hoping for is that they must be university students. Ideally, they should be seniors, around their 3rd or 4th year. Furthermore, priority will be given to those who can attend the program in person for full days throughout the duration. Preferred majors include education, business, and entrepreneurship-related fields. Youth(young adults aged 18 - 30 years old) from APEC economies are our prioritised target, and non-APEC economies who wish to participate are also very welcome. The youths who participate this onsite ASSET program in Jeju will be the primary beneficiaries.

After that, the outputs can provide insights to numerous professionals in the social enterprise sector which will be the secondary beneficiaries, by referencing the APEC publication documents.

Dissemination

Each team's presentation materials will be uploaded to the ALCoB Facebook page to share with those interested in social entrepreneurship. Participants will upload brief overview for their business model and promotional video by the QR code. (This is not an APEC Publication. It's about a SNS upload of individuals.) 

As an APEC Publication, we'll submit the 'Summary Report' for the dissemination.

Gender

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Work Plan

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Risks

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Monitoring and Evaluation

Please see Project Proposal in Supporting Documents folder.

Linkages

As we plan to invite 11 travel-eligible economies, and all the opportunities are open to all APEC economies and non-APEC economies, the engagement of various stakeholders is expected. In addition, we will invite expert speakers from relevant APEC sub-fora such as SMEWG and DESG, as well as international organizations, ABAC, UNESCO, etc.

Sustainability

Invite professional investment institutions, such as accelerators, to the final presentation to encourage substantial funding. After the conclusion of the APEC fund, participants will be encouraged to seek additional external funding to support their startups. Guide participants to update their progress on Facebook for tracking purposes. If ASSET participants successfully launch and manage their startups, they may have the opportunity to serve as mentors for next year's ASSET program.

Direct Labour

Not Applicable.

Are there any supporting document attached?

Yes
Project No.
Project Title
Project Status
Fund Account
Sub-fund
Project Year
Project Session
APEC Funding
Co-funding Amount
Total Project Value
Sponsoring Forum
Topics
Committee
Other Fora Involved
Other Non-APEC Stakeholders Involved
Proposing Economy(ies)
Co-Sponsoring Economies
Expected Start Date
Expected Completion Date
Project Proponent Name 1
Job Title 1
Organization 1
Telephone 1
Email 1
Project Proponent Name 2
Job Title 2
Organization 2
Telephone 2
Email 2
Declaration
Project Summary
Relevance
Objectives
Alignment
Beneficiaries and Outputs
Dissemination
Gender
Work Plan
Risks
Monitoring and Evaluation
Linkages
Sustainability
Direct Labour
Are there any supporting document attached?
hdFldAdmin
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Secretariat Comments
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Monitoring Report Received
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PMU Field 1
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Content Type: Standard Proposal
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