The Prince’s Youth Business International (YBI) is a not-for-profit organisation, which via a global networked community provides young people with the opportunity to start their own business – through a combination of access to capital, business development services and experienced mentoring. Founded in 2000, the charity was originally a programme within The International Business Leader Forum. YBI has since become one of the Prince’s Charities, a group of not-for-profit organisations of which His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is President.

People

YBI’s Board of Trustees is chaired by Clydesdale Bank

Clydesdale Bank

Clydesdale Bank is a commercial bank in Scotland, a subsidiary of the National Australia Bank Group. In Scotland, Clydesdale Bank is the third largest clearing bank, although it also retains a branch network in London and the north of England...

 and National Australia Group Europe Chairman, Sir Malcolm Williamson and consists of YBI Chief Executive Andrew Devenport, John Downie – a senior partner at Accenture

Accenture

Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...

, Frances Le Grys – corporate partner of international law firm Lovells, Adam Lury – co-founder of HHCL advertising agency, Elizabeth Padmore – Chairman of Basingstoke and North Hampshire Foundation Trust Hospital, and Rupendra Singh – former Non-Executive Chairman of KPMG

KPMG

KPMG is one of the largest professional services networks in the world and one of the Big Four auditors, along with Deloitte, Ernst & Young and PwC. Its global headquarters is located in Amstelveen, Netherlands....

 India.

YBI also has two Board of Representative members who focus their efforts on providing a necessary communications link between the Board of Trustees and YBI’s networked members and supporters. In January 2010, David Stewart-Patterson – Executive Vice President, Canadian Council of Chief Executives

Canadian Council of Chief Executives

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives is an organization in Canada of chief executive officers of roughly 150 major Canadian corporations. The organization was founded in 1976 as the Business Council on National Issues, but renamed itself in 2001. The council actively comments on public...

 and Vice Chair, Canadian Youth Business Foundation and Sriyan De Silva Wijeyeratne – Country Manager, Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...

Sri Lanka and Founder Trustee, Youth Business Sri Lanka were elected as the first Board Representatives.

Day to day business at YBI is undertaken by a team of 17 employees and a fluid network of volunteers and interns.

Youth Entrepreneurship

Each year YBI celebrates the achievements and successes of young entrepreneurs across the world with the YBI Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. The awards showcase youth business talent and highlight the success and impact business orientated initiatives have had on local communities around the world.

Past winners have ranged from a plastic recycler in India, a waste disposal expert in Kenya and 2009’s winner – an Argentinean radio station owner, Juan Ramón Nuñez.