23 June 2006

Young Entrepreneur Development Initiative

Today I met by chance the charming Country Director Laurie Dalton of YEDI, a NGO based in Oregon and Tbilisi with incredible interesting projects to educate and assist Georgian youth by developing their own small business ideas and launching them into reality. Check out their Tbilisi Project, the Young Agriculturalists, the project for Beekeepers, the Tbilisi Travel and Grassroot Tourism and the Georgian Artisan Development for International Markets.

From the Tbilisi Project: "Georgian youth are intelligent, quick learners and are eager for new ideas and concepts, particularly those from the US. However, they have not been exposed to entrepreneurial concepts that are commonplace and woven into the daily life of most western cultures. Concepts such as developing a plan, marketing, evaluating competition, and recognizing opportunities are new to Georgian youth, and they have few, if any, entrepreneurial role models to learn from."

I could not agree more. Maybe soon or in a few years some of the crisis-ridden countries of Europe may have to learn from successful young Georgian Businesswomen and projects like Yedi.

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