The Youth and Social Enterprise Fund (Y-SEF) was established to seek to capitalize on prevailing opportunities to empower young people and the productive poor to confront and surmount these challenges to realize their full potential and thereby move out of poverty.

Y-SEF begun its life as the Young Entrepreneurs Development Fund (YEDF) popularly called YEDAF, which was registered in 1996 as an association limited by guarantee with a status as non-profit, non-political, non-governmental organization (NGO). In August 2000 a re-organization took place resulting in the reformation of Youth and Social Enterprise Fund (Y-SEF), with a new mission and vision with the objective responsibility to carry on the activities of YEDAF.

YSEF’s mission is to support the development of local entrepreneurial capacity especially young entrepreneurs, by providing micro-credit support/intermediation and business development services, including facilitating socio-economic investments and capacity building of marginalized groups and communities for sustained socio-economic empowerment.

With a vision of a self-sustaining fund by 2008, YSEF aims to support agribusinesses, other productive sectors and community investment. Y-SEF provides technical and development support and consultancy services in the following main areas:

a)Micro Finance Initiative: The objective is to intermediate and facilitate access by micro-small and medium entrepreneurs and productive poor, to individual and group credit/loans including their efficient use and management to enhance production and profits and to move out of poverty.

b)Business Development Services (BDS): The main objective is to enhance the operational efficiency of micro-small and medium scale enterprise operators through relevant training and linking them to relevant sources of information, finance, technology and markets.

c)Entrepreneurship Development: The main objective is to inculcate the entrepreneurship thought into young entrepreneurs, practicing entrepreneurs and organized groups that will transform them from marginal survival entrepreneurs or potential unemployed job seekers to productive self-employed job creators.

d)Technical Assistance for Community and Self-Initiated Projects: The main objective is to facilitate access by the poor to basic social and economic infrastructure as well as link communities to development resources both far and near including best practices that will enhance their well-being.

The organization has carried out assignments and provided technical support services to entrepreneurs, NGOs/CBOs, government departments, district assemblies, rural communities and development partners, among others.