September 04, 2012

Toronto, ON - Effective September 1, 2012, the Start-Up Program offered by the Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) will be open to individuals 18 to 39.  This represents an increase of the age limit from 34 to 39.  The change was made possible by a recent organizational shift from charity to not-for-profit that enables CYBF to actively engage and assist a larger diversity of entrepreneurs.  It represents the first program adjustment, designed to explore new market opportunities and better serve aspiring entrepreneurs.

The core mandate of CYBF is to serve young and emerging entrepreneurs with a program of start-up financing, pre- and post-launch coaching, business resources and mentoring.  The expansion in age criteria continues towards these goals while opening the opportunities to a larger market.  A longitudinal survey conducted by the Kauffman Foundation, the world’s largest foundation devoted to entrepreneurship, from 2003–2008 found that the average age of small business founders had increased for all new businesses categories over five years, an example of this shift being technology start-up founders at an average age of 39.

“The Canadian Youth Business Foundation is an organization that takes pride in identifying and meeting the needs of entrepreneurs looking to start a business,” said Terry Campbell, Chief Operating Officer, CYBF.  “Over our 16 years of operation we have grown exponentially and have emerged as a leading entrepreneurial organization in Canada. We aim to continue this growth through carefully researched and planned expansions to our programs.”

Overall, this expansion and any future changes to programs will ensure that CYBF is a long-term partner in entrepreneurial success. CYBF remains committed to offering a Start-Up Program for young and emerging entrepreneurs who are unable to find support from traditional sources.  The change in charitable status of the organization signals a further commitment to ensuring our programs grow and evolve to best serve the needs of the entrepreneurial community as a whole.  Further details about the CYBF programs can be found at:  www.cybf.ca

Canadian Youth Business Foundation – Canada’s Entrepreneur Gateway

The Canadian Youth Business Foundation (CYBF) is the "go to" place for youth entrepreneurship.  As a national organization, we are dedicated to growing Canada’s economy one young entrepreneur at a time.  We look at character not collateral, when providing youth, age 18-39, with pre-launch coaching, business resources, start-up financing and mentoring, to help them launch and sustain a successful entrepreneurial business.  CYBF is the founder of G20 Young Entrepreneur Summit (G20 YES) and founding member of the G20 Young Entrepreneurs’ Alliance (G20 YEA) - www.cybf.ca

MEDIA CONTACT:

Nicolee Tattersall

Manager, Media Relations

CYBF

416-408-2923 x2208

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