A national Not-For-Profit, Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) is calling for a national strategy to back Australia’s young innovators and entrepreneurs amidst what has been described as a “startling lack of attention” being given to the contribution of young Australians.
“To secure our economic and social prosperity, we need young Australians to be equipped and supported to drive new innovations and business opportunities for themselves and their communities. Australia is one of the only advanced economies without dedicated youth entrepreneurship initiatives supported by the government,” FYA CEO Jan Owen said.
New international data from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor shows that:
- While general entrepreneurial activity in Australia is similar to highly entrepreneurial countries such as the USA, activity among 18-24 year olds is approximately 40 per cent lower than their American peers
- Only 8.7 per cent of 18-24 year old Australians are starting new businesses – much lower than the average national rate of 13.1 percent across all age groups
A survey of 65 current and former entrepreneurs engaged in FYA’s Young Social Pioneers (YSP) accelerator program found:
- 75 per cent of respondents identified access to finance as a barrier to starting and growing their ventures
- Almost half of respondents identified human resources and people management as a barrier
- 40 per cent identified complex legal structures and regulations as a barrier
- The majority are having to balance multiple jobs, study and volunteer commitments on top of leading their enterprises
It is acknowledged that investing in our young people and supporting them to become more entrepreneurial and innovative can have key results on workforce demographics, as well as helping to create solutions to national challenges. “Given the growing evidence that our country’s future economic strength will rely heavily on the contribution of entrepreneurship and enterprise, we need to create an environment that supports young Australians to succeed in social and business entrepreneurship,” Owen said.
- Reported by Peter Williams, Lecturer, Avondale Business School