The current challenges in environmental, social, and economic aspects cannot be solved by a single party. A cross-sector collaboration involving actors with different skills, backgrounds, networks, and approaches is needed to create joint solutions that can address various issues. Collaboration between various levels of society, particularly young people, is also essential. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reported that the number of productive ages (15-64 years) dominates the population in Indonesia, making the country in the demographic bonus phase. In social enterprises, collaboration is crucial to business development and efforts to expand impact.
The Youth Co:Lab Bootcamp 2022 program exemplifies this spirit of collaboration. Developed by UNDP and Citi Foundation in 2017, Youth Co:Lab aims to empower and invest in young people to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation, and entrepreneurship. This year, the Ministry of Youth and Sports of the Republic of Indonesia collaborates with Youth Co:Lab Bootcamp 2022 for its implementation. This is PLUS’s second Youth Co:Lab program after 2021, and the third collaboration between PLUS and Innovative Financing Lab since 2020. The program emphasizes collaboration in each activity, not only with external parties but also between participants. The theme for this year’s program is Green Economy, and the selected participants are social enterprises in the field of green entrepreneurship.
Youth Co:Lab Bootcamp 2022 will take place online and offline, with a series of online workshop activities focusing on the ‘Brown Bag’ scheme for 25 selected participants, followed by a Demo Day and offline Matchmaking for the ten best participants.
Collaboration with External Parties
The Youth Co:Lab Bootcamp 2022 program started with online activities, followed by four Brown Bag sessions. During these sessions, participants got the chance to network and learn from experts and experienced entrepreneurs. The focus of the Brown Bag sessions was on discussions, questions and answers, and sharing experiences between participants and resource persons.
After this, the top 25 participants were selected and they pitched in front of judges who had a background in the green economy industry. The judges then selected the top 10 participants who went through a series of offline programs that increased collaboration with external parties.
During the offline programs, participants got to connect and attend discussions and workshops attended by representatives from UNDP, social enterprises, and alumni of other UNDP programs. One of the main highlights of the Youth Co:Lab Bootcamp 2022 activities was the Matchmaking session. Here, the top 10 participants were allowed to promote their products, services, and initiatives to a variety of invitees from different backgrounds such as social enterprise practitioners, social impact centers, NGOs, foundations, corporations, and the media.
The program also encouraged collaboration between participants through connecting and sharing sessions. This helped them get to know each other and share challenges in building social enterprises. Participants were also divided into small groups based on categories for Check-In Sessions with PLUS to support their journey throughout the activity.
As a result of the activities that brought together participants with stakeholders from various backgrounds and organizations in the green economy industry, communication, collaboration and transactions with external partners emerged. Post-program surveys with participants showed that there were at least 18 collaboration plans for 2023 between participants and external parties that were established through this program. The Youth Co:Lab Bootcamp 2022 program demonstrated that collaboration between youth and related parties is possible and can lead to positive impact for developing Indonesia.
Collaboration between participants
During the Brown Bag session, participants were encouraged to connect and share challenges in building social enterprises. Additionally, they were divided into small groups based on categories for Check-In Sessions with PLUS to support their journey throughout the activity.
As a result of a series of activities that brought together participants with stakeholders from various backgrounds and organizations in the green economy industry, communication, collaboration, and transactions with external partners emerged. Post-program surveys with participants revealed that at least 18 collaboration plans for 2023 were established between participants and external parties through this program.
It is clear from the Youth Co:Lab Bootcamp 2022 program that collaboration between youth and related parties is possible. This collaboration not only responds to current challenges, but also expands the positive impact for developing Indonesia.
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