City Foundation and UNDP Jointly Host 'Youth Co-Lab' to Support Young Entrepreneurs

[Asia Economy Reporter Song Seung-seop] The Citi Foundation announced that it jointly held the 'Youth Co:Lab Virtual Summit' with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) over three days starting from the 2nd.

Youth Co:Lab is a program by Citigroup and the Citi Foundation aimed at supporting youth career development in the Asia-Pacific region. It helps young people develop their own solutions to significant social issues affecting local communities and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The main goal is to connect young entrepreneurs and women with companies, incubators, accelerators, and investment institutions. It supports the development of ideas into sustainable and viable models. Over the past four years, it has been conducted in 25 countries and regions, with a total participation of over 75,000 people.

The online event was attended by about 4,700 young social entrepreneurs, business incubators, accelerators, investors, and government officials from approximately 120 countries. The youth shared ideas related to climate change, gender equality, and the promotion of women's rights.

A research report was also presented. The presentation titled "One Year On: How Asia-Pacific Youth Entrepreneurs Responded to COVID-19" introduced cases of recovery through innovation as young entrepreneurs faced challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. In Korea, the DamoGo team, last year's Youth Co:Lab Korea winning team, was selected to present a case in the climate action category.

In the second half of this year, Citi Korea, the Citi Foundation, and the UNDP Seoul Policy Centre plan to hold 'Youth Co:Lab Korea.' Based on this, they intend to continuously support young social entrepreneurs.