New project benefits young business leaders (UPDATE)
By Nigar Orujova
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), oil giant BP and the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) signed a document on launching a new project to support young business leaders in Baku on December 6.
The total value of the two-year Youth Business Leadership Project (YBLP) is $200,000 of which $100,000 will be paid by BP and its co-venturers and the remaining $100,000 by USAID.
The project, created in support of the next generation Azerbaijani business leaders' professional development, will be implemented by Junior Achievement Azerbaijan (JA), a local non-governmental organization.
Attending the signing ceremony, US Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar said one of the most important aspects of the program is its focus on young women. According to him, the project aims for 60 percent of the internships to benefit women.
The YBLP's primary aim is to empower 120 third and fourth-year business students at universities in Baku and Ganja, the country's biggest cities, to become entrepreneurs and future business leaders by providing them with opportunities to gain real world employment experience especially through internships at various private companies, professional development workshops and role models, who will provide students with advice and guidance.
Under the first stage of the project, the participating students will be selected after a number of tests and an interview. During the second stage, Junior Achievement Azerbaijan will offer recruited students the training sessions on work-readiness, financial and business literacy, as well as a personal finance and job shadow program.
The third, more practical stage, which lasts four mouths, will give participants an opportunity to work with AmCham member companies. Students who pass all stages of the project will receive $640 scholarships.
The project implementer, Junior Achievement Azerbaijan, is the local representative of Junior Achievement (JA) Worldwide, the world's largest not-for-profit organization in business education. JA's mission is to inspire and prepare young people to succeed in a global economy. Since its founding in 1919, JA has contributed to the business and economics education of young people throughout the world.
Now, JA operates through local representations in 166 countries worldwide. JA Azerbaijan started its activity in 1998 and since then the company has trained thousands of students and more than 300 teachers from 260 schools in 26 regions through funding from public and private donors.