The World's Talking About Helping Young Business Owners

Good News: The World's Talking About Helping Young Business Owners!

Guess what? There's a big buzz going on around the world right now: everyone's starting to agree that helping young people start their own jobs is super important for the future. Recently, there have been lots of meetings where people have been saying that governments, companies, and schools need to really begin to focus on supporting young business minds. They're seeing it as a real way to fix the job shortage and come up with cool, new ideas. Whether it's in Colombo, Istanbul, or even Washington, D.C., the message is loud and clear: we need to do something now!

The big Guys Are Listening: The G20 and Young Bosses

Back in February 2026, a group called the Chamber of Lankan Entrepreneurs (COYLE) pulled off a big event in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It was a five-day meeting with the G20 Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance (G20 YEA). Basically, they got a bunch of smart, young leaders from different countries to talk about growing businesses, working together across borders, and getting policies changed to help them out.

This Young Entrepreneurs' Alliance is kind of a big deal. They speak for over half a million young business owners in G20 countries and get to chat with the heads of those countries to help make business easier for everyone. COYLE has been a part of this since 2024 and is now a main voice for Sri Lankan businesses on the world scene.

At the end of their meeting, they came up with a list of things they want to see happen. They want to make things easier for businesses to trade across borders, get more money to young company founders (specially in new markets), set up rules that help startups succeed, and make the economy in different areas stronger through young people starting businesses.

This list was given to Sri Lanka's Foreign Minister, Vijitha Herath, to make sure these ideas from young business owners are included in the country's plans. The boss of COYLE, Manjula Wijesundera, said that holding this meeting in Colombo shows how strong and determined Sri Lankan business owners are. He said that by inviting leaders from around the world, they're not just talking about the future but making connections that will help their companies grow globally.

Istanbul Says: The Time to Act Is Now!

At the same time, in Istanbul, there was another get-together called the International Youth Entrepreneurs Congress (UGIK'26). They were talking about how young people can help change the economy.

The head of the Turkish Presidential Investment Office, Burak Daglioglu, gave a speech saying that Turkey put almost $700 million into new tech startups in 2025 alone. He said that people need to show leadership and that the world needs people who are brave enough to move forward even when things are uncertain. He even said that you don't need to be in business to be an entrepreneur, it's more of a way of thinking.

The president of MUSIAD, Burhan Ozdemir, told young business owners to think about more than just making money. He said that they should be creating new ways of doing things and understanding the world. He also said that being brave now means sticking to your morals, not caring about quick money, and changing things to make the world fairer.

The president of Youth MUSIAD, Masum Usta, had some good tips for anyone wanting to start a business. He said that the best business people are usually the best listeners. They understand what people want even when they don't say it out loud. He said that listening is a skill that leaders need.

The World Bank Is Worried About Jobs for Youth

The World Bank had their Youth Summit in Washington, D.C. They talked about how in the next 10 to 15 years, about 1.2 billion young people in new markets will be old enough to work, but there will only be about 400 million jobs for them. That leaves about 800 million young people without a job, specially those who have problems because of their gender, race, or if they have a disability.

The Summit talked about three things: education, starting a business, and farming. There was also a contest where young people showed off their ideas of how to create jobs.

The goal of the Summit was to help young people find new ways to solve problems, give them the tools to start projects, and have a conversation between young people, the World Bank, and other important people. The winners got advice from experts on how to start a business and figure out the market.

Geneva: Young People Want to Save the World

There was also the Youth Future Summit in Geneva, Switzerland. They brought together 200 young leaders from over 100 countries to talk about things like education, climate change, peace, and human rights.

One big topic was how to use new ideas and businesses to help the economy. People went to workshops where they learned about leadership and got to visit the United Nations Headquarters and CERN.

One Young World Comes to Africa

For the first time since 2013, the One Young World Summit will be in Africa, in Cape Town. This time the summit happens 50 years after a huge youth rising.The Summit will honor that past and celebrate the young leaders who are changing the future with new ideas and action.

Cape Town is a great spot for this because it's good for business and connects different markets. Over 2,200 leaders from around the world will talk about how to fix the world's problems, with starting a business being a big part of the discussion. After the Summit, the leaders become One Young World Ambassadors and join a group of over 20,500 people who continue to get support for their work.

A New Way to Show Off Young Business Talent

The Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) is changing its challenge series into the NFTE Youth Entrepreneurship Showcase (The Showcase). This will be a big, international event that will begin during the 2026-2027 school year.

This shows that NFTE wants to make sure everyone has a chance to learn about business. By making its contests into one event, The Showcase wants to improve learning and help young people connect around the world.

There will be a Learning Lab where students can learn new things and get advice from professionals. The teams that do well in the local contests will go to the U.S. challenge and the best U.S. team will go to the world finals to compete against teams from over 20 countries.

The CEO of NFTE, Dr. J.D. LaRock, said that this is a big improvement to the learning experience. He said it will help prepare young people to work with others from around the world and come up with ideas that will make the world a better place.

Junior Achievement Is Getting Bigger

The Euroclear Foundation and Junior Achievement (JA) are working together to help more young people learn about business, work, and money. They plan to help 20,000 young people in 14 countries, including Japan, Malaysia, and the United States.

Euroclear workers will help by being mentors and giving advice to young people, helping them feel more confident and ready for a job.

The Euroclear Foundation is also helping JA create a new lesson about money and business planning for JA Boost, which is like a helper that uses AI. JA Boost will be used in over 54 countries to help young people learn important business and money skills.

Mei Li Powell, the head of the Euroclear Foundation, said that by helping young people who don't have many chances, they are helping to build a better economy and a more fair community.

What All These Events Have in Common

Across all these different meetings, there are a few things that everyone agrees on:

Getting money is still a big problem. Whether it's Turkey's investment fund or the G20 YEA's requests, giving young company founders more money is what everyone wants.

Education needs to change. Programs like NFTE's Showcase and JA's AI helper prove that business can be taught and that lessons need to adapt to the digital world.

Advice is just as important as money. Every meeting said that giving money without help doesn't work. The most successful business owners have mentors to guide them.

Doing things the right way and caring about the planet are a must. Business owners need to think about their morals and how they affect society, not just about making money.

There aren't enough jobs. With so many young people at risk of not finding a job, starting a business isn't just a good idea, it's a necessity.

What's Next?

The message from these meetings is clear: helping young people start businesses is now a key part of the economy. The G20 YEA's list, the World Bank's call to action, NFTE's expanded showcase, and JA's global reach all point to a future where young company founders are seen as important drivers of growth.

For young people who want to start a business, there are more chances now than ever before. Contests offer money and advice. Programs provide structure and connections. Global summits connect founders with others and with people who can help them make policy. And more and more people are seeing that young-led companies can solve real problems and create good jobs.

Now, it's up to governments, companies, and schools to put their money where their mouth is. The requests are clear, the ways to invest are proven, and there's a huge need. All that's left is for people to take action.

As one person at a summit said, Young people aren't waiting for permission to build the future. They're doing it already. The question is whether the rest of us will catch up.

Are you a young business owner with a story to tell? Have you been a part of any of these programs or summits? Share your experiences!