GABORONE, July 16 (Xinhua) -- Botswana's young entrepreneurs with innovative start-up businesses that have the potential to scale up in the country will soon have access to finance and support through the Youth Connekt-Supplier Development Program (SDP).

During the Youth Connekt-SDP launch ceremony Thursday in Gaborone, Botswana, the Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Culture Development (MYSC) Tumiso Rakgare said he was pleased to facilitate youth empowerment initiatives across the country to address some of the development challenges facing young people, such as youth unemployment.

Youth Connekt is a program initiated and established by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Rwanda and has since been rolled out to 9 countries as a key offering to Africa and its young generation.

The Youth Connekt-SDP program in Botswana is a partnership between MYSC, UNDP and the Botswana Innovation Hub, supported by the Russian Federation.

About 36 youth-owned enterprises have been selected from the current MYSC Youth Development Fund grantees. Those who, in the past, have struggled to fully utilize their grants to become successful businesses will benefit from the program.

Andrey Vadimovich Kemarskiy, ambassador of the Russian Federation to Botswana, said the program is aimed at supporting young people to use their potential as a driving force for sustainable development.

The Russian government took a decision to support projects in Botswana and create business opportunities for young people and women, and focus on promoting businesses, creating jobs and supporting small and medium-sized enterprises with the potential to provide quality employment, especially for vulnerable people, he said. Enditem

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