The Youth Venture Initiative (YV) is Ashoka Arab World’s social entrepreneur program for the region’s youth. Whereas our Venture for Fellows looks for ‘adults’ that have innovative and sustainable ideas to bring about social change, the Youth Venture initiative is committed to bring about a mentality shift amongst Arab youth, one in which they are made aware of their power and abilities to cause change themselves.



Youth Venture aims to start a movement for enabling and encouraging new generations of young social and business entrepreneurs in the Arab World. We hope to start this movement by inspiring and investing in teams of young people to start and lead their own social ventures, and connecting them to peers who are doing the same around the world. Concurrently, Ashoka Arab World Youth Venture wants to change the current environment in the region for youth of stifling and restriction into one in which initiatives, creativity, proactive behavior and engagement are accepted and encouraged.