Global population growth, at eight billion in 2025, has far exceeded the ability of most nations to create enough economic development to provide viable job opportunities for their youth. The result is a large pool of young, healthy disenchanted males who are available recruits for terrorist, drug traffickers, gangs, insurgent groups, and criminal elements.

 

Entrepreneurship programs are needed in most nations to help give youth viable self­ employment means by creation of new enterprises. Proven practices by beginning entrepreneurs are as follows: 

☐ Seek to find critical needs where means of meeting the need do not exist or attempts to do so are flawed or have failed. 

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☐ Create an innovative way to meet the need identified and protect your idea with patents or hold as a trade secret as an option. 

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☐ Do an extensive patent search to determine if others have suddenly had the same idea for meeting the need you identified. 

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☐ Interview others who have been successful at starting a similar effort or business. 

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☐ Build a team of experts with the various skills needed to help you start and sustain your new enterprise. 

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☐ Do your homework and become expert in your innovation with the help of the above experts. 

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☐ Enlist support from family and friends. 

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☐ Write a detailed business plan with funding options identified. 

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☐ Develop cost information on all your business inputs. 

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☐ Survey markets for customer acceptance for your suggested pricing. 

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☐ Evaluate all options for location of your business. 

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☐ Identify, vet, plan, interview, and recruit a qualified staff. 

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☐ Take care to avoid burnout since new ventures may by intense. 

 

☐ Secure your funding for your business start; e.g. family, friends, lenders, NGOs, foundations, economic development programs, etc.