January 25, 2019
At just 21 years old, Siddiqa Shabbazz had run out of options. As a high school drop-out with two young children she struggled to make ends meet. Her only income came from braiding hair for friends and the weekend rental of a trampoline. Without a steady income and the support of her mother who recently passed, Siddiqa found herself depressed and alone. Until an opportunity came knocking right to her door.
Her change of fortune came in 2017 when a village leader introduced her to a business entrepreneurship program that was just being launched to target at-risk youth, like herself, in Sophia, a neighborhood in Guyana’s capital city Georgetown.
Sophia is a former squatter settlement plagued by high levels of crime, despite having been regularized over 10 years ago. Hence, Sophia was selected as one of the communities to benefit from the IDB-financed technical cooperation Support for the Implementation of the Citizen Security Strategy.
An important part of the support was the Youth Entrepreneurship Program, popularly called YouthBiz592, given its focus on Guyanese youth in business and the country’s phone code, +592. “I started the entrepreneurship program in April 2017 and it was hard since I wasn’t able to work while I was being trained and I was away during the day from my kids,” says Siddiqa. “But the stipend given to me and for my kids daycare really helped me a lot and made it easier for me to complete the program.”
YouthBiz592, a collaborative effort involving the IDB and Guyana’s Ministries of Public Security, Education and Business, provided entrepreneurship and life skills training to 87 young people from various communities in Guyana considered to be at-risk, with the goals of providing support toward reducing negative behavior and of generating economic opportunities to this specific group.
Under this three-month-long program, participants received coaching on starting a business and benefited from opportunities for work attachments with established firms. Networks were developed among students and trainers. Moral support and guidance were provided for persons who felt they did not have the skills and behavior to contribute meaningfully to Guyanese society.
Siddiqa’s business proposal resulted in a US$1,500 YouthBiz592 grant, which she used to expand her “S&J Funzone Rental Service” business. “Outside of the actual business training, I learned a lot of new skills for developing business strategies, how to approach and talk to customers, on women empowerment and even how to be a better parent. These have made me more confident and helped me with expanding my business,” she says. She is now not only able to comfortably afford her living expenses, but in less than two years, her business expanded dramatically. She now owns five trampolines, five bouncy castles, a slide, two movable swimming pools and about five children’s cars.
At its closing, the YouthBiz592 program was deemed quite successful, with 85 out of 87 beneficiaries completing the course program and with attendance averaging over 83 percent. Eighty-four business plans were submitted, out of which 72 were approved, and 66 beneficiaries received grants of up to US$1,500 to start their business ventures. The YouthBiz592 program was able to institutionalize a business model on youth entrepreneurship within the Government’s Small Business Bureau (SBB).
Since this was the first such program implemented in Guyana, the success of the YouthBiz592 program has led to its replication in 20 communities across Guyana where at-risk youths will benefit from entrepreneurship training. “We are very happy with these numbers,” says Mariko Russell, who was the IDB’s team leader on the program. “The concern was that the high incidence of violent behavior at the community level had a lot to do with low employment and educational levels, which leads to lack of motivation and ‘giving up on life’. By providing a framework to put at-risk youth back into productive use of time, we expect to contribute to changing this situation.”
Under the YouthBiz592 program, Siddiqa has transitioned to a life full of zest, as contrasted with previously being overwhelmed by the everyday responsibilities of providing for her family. Her self-confidence has dramatically improved and even her children are happier and healthier. “I want to do more for myself. In the next year I want to start classes at the Government Technical Institute to get a degree, I want to learn to drive and to get my own house so that me and my kids are more comfortable,” Siddiqa says.
It’s hard to ignore the changes in Siddiqa’s life. Compared to two years ago, she has a brand new perspective. But above all else, this young mother has found the freedom to believe that any dream is possible. Check more about our program here.
