Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs

The Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (CAYE) works to strengthen and support the ambitions of young entrepreneurs in Commonwealth regions. These regional networks ensure they have a combined voice and representation at forums to influence policy development on youth entrepreneurship.

These coalitions seek to champion the cause of young entrepreneurs at the local, national, regional and international level, through its engagement with governments, the media, the public, and other relevant stakeholders. They are committed to achieving measurable progress towards the development of youth entrepreneurship and innovation within Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Canada and the wider Commonwealth.

There are three regional CAYE networks:

Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs - Africa

Originally represented as three separate networks (CAYE-East Africa, CAYE-Southern Africa and CAYE-West Africa), the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs-Africa (CAYE-Africa) was established in May 2019 to merge the work and impact of each former network into one unified alliance for the Africa region.

The alliance was formed by young entrepreneurs from eighteen African Commonwealth countries. The young leaders recognised that the alliance’s current “network of networks” model required a more targeted and engaged approach in order to increase impact, strengthen linkages across the region and embolden a clear unified approach to CAYE’s agenda in Africa. This shift will provide a platform for young entrepreneurs to showcase business enterprises and promote trade within the country, region and beyond.

The current CAYE-Africa Coordinator is Joel Bamwise of Uganda.

Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs-Asia

CAYE-Asia was established in 2011 as a network of young entrepreneurs from across the Asia region and their respective organisations. It commits to supporting young entrepreneurs across the region; creating a network for mentorship and advisory services to young entrepreneurs; contributing to human capital development through education and training; providing information on access to finance and other resources; and influencing policy mechanisms for entrepreneurial development.

It is a ‘Pipeline Partner’ for Child and Youth Finance International, and its members have played an active role in supporting the Commonwealth Youth Programme in replicating the CAYE-Asia model throughout other Commonwealth regions.

CAYE-Asia also hosts an annual summit to provide a platform for engagement and networking among young entrepreneurs. The last summit was held in Goa, India in 2019.

The current CAYE-Asia Co-ordinator is Anuj Agarwal of India.

Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs-Caribbean & Canada

Youth entrepreneurship organisations from 13 Commonwealth countries across the Caribbean and including Canada formed a regional alliance of young entrepreneurs in December 2014.

The mission of the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs-Caribbean & Canada (CAYE-C&C) is to:

focus on building support for youth entrepreneurship;
promote knowledge-sharing among member organisations and stakeholders;
provide information to young entrepreneurs;
facilitate regional trade for young entrepreneurs.

The network was formally launched in July 2015.

The current CAYE-Caribbean & Canada Co-ordinator is Selma Green of Barbados.