A mentorship scheme for young people interested in starting a co-operative has been set up by the International Co-operative Alliance and its regional offices.
The Global Cooperative Entrepreneurs (GCE) scheme will help people aged 18-35 to devise co-operative solutions to the needs of their local communities.
Framed within the ICA-EU Partnership (#coops4dev), GCE is inspired by Cooperatives Europe’s CoopStarter 2.0 Erasmus+ funded project.
It offers access to online and offline learning opportunities to help participants build new networks and to create positive changes in their communities. As youth ambassadors, their role is to mobilise other young people around their co-operative start-up idea – and the mentors will help them organise three events to do this.
The programme starts in autumn when youth ambassadors will take part in an initial training session, followed by a six-month mentorship scheme in their own countries.
Applicants must be based in a participating country to enable face-to-face meetings with the mentors. These are: Colombia, El Salvador, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Poland.
Applications for the scheme are open until 24 June.
This article has been edited: an earlier version mentioned that the scheme had been launched by Cooperatives Europe. The programme is an initiative launched by all ICA regions, not just Cooperatives Europe.
