Building Opportunities, Backing Innovation: Reflections on a Decade of Youth Co:Lab

By Elliot Harris, Head of International Community Relations, Citi

In 2014, when the Citi Foundation launched the Pathways to Progress, a global effort to equip young people with the skills and networks to succeed in the rapidly changing economy, we quickly learned that a powerful intervention was not just preparing youth for jobs, but enabling youth to create them. That insight became the catalyst for our broader journey, which ultimately incubated the launch of Youth Co:Lab in 2017 in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Youth Co:Lab initially focused on taking the youth development conversation from upskilling youth for employment to recognizing young people as primary drivers of innovation and economic growth. Young people were no longer waiting for a seat at the table; they wanted to build their own. This evolution, from youth as beneficiaries to youth as architects of change, was a significant development in young people’s economic empowerment.

Through our decade in supporting Youth Co:Lab as well as supporting young people around the world, the Citi Foundation recognizes how youth are at the heart of economic progress for all. And entrepreneurship is a key component of helping young people seize their own economic futures.  

As I reflect on the impact of Youth Co:Lab, the following three takeaways stand out as the most defining lessons of this journey:

First, I am struck by the wellspring of innovation that has emerged from the region’s youth. Young people are not creating abstract business ideas — they are creating tangible solutions born from lived experience. Take Vulcan Augmetics, for example, a startup in Vietnam that is transforming the lives of amputees by creating affordable, functional and modular prosthetic products using 3D-printing. Another example is AI4GOV, a startup based in the Philippines that focuses on improving access to information and local services through artificial intelligence (AI). These companies are changing lives on the ground, for the people they serve and also for their entrepreneurs. These innovations are proof that young people are uniquely positioned to identify and solve deep-rooted community challenges with agility and authenticity.

Second, a strong and capable ecosystem can help accelerate the pace of young people’s growth and success. Youth Co:Lab has brought together a remarkable number of stakeholders, from policymakers to multilateral experts, businesses, philanthropists, community leaders, and more, all gathered with the purpose of putting youth at the center of economic and social development. It is a demonstration of institutional impact and how collaboration at this level can drive and accelerate a youth economic development agenda forward.

Third, as we look to the future, we see an economic landscape that is changing as advancements in technology and AI rapidly shape the future of work. This is creating both opportunities and challenges for youth. For example, new jobs such as AI specialists and cybersecurity experts are emerging, but young people also may face shrinking entry-level roles, a digital divide and a widening skills gap.

This means that as we continue to support young people in Asia-Pacific and beyond, we will also need new solutions for youth employability. It will be vital for all of us to build on what has worked so far and consider how we can best support young people in navigating an economy that looks different than ever before.

At the Citi Foundation, we are proud to have contributed to the creation and journey of Youth Co:Lab. This movement has achieved so much of what it set out to do. It has broken down systemic barriers that constrain the growth of young people in the region, and it has accelerated their potential. It has established a common agenda for nearly 30 countries in Asia-Pacific to empower and invest in youth. It has positioned young people front and center to solve pressing challenges in the region, by catalyzing and sustaining youth-led social enterprises. It has continued to evolve, creating new platforms and approaches to support young entrepreneurs.

We remain deeply optimistic about young people and their ability to grow, innovate and lead. We will continue to invest in them, help them find new solutions and equip them with the resources and opportunities they need to take charge of their economic futures.

About the Author

Elliot Harris is Head of International Community Relations at Citi. He has been a driving force behind the Citi Foundation's decade-long investment in Youth Co:Lab and youth entrepreneurship across Asia-Pacific and beyond.