Policy Pointers from the Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy

The Youth Entrepreneurship Policy Academy (YEPA) was officially launched in Brussels on the 9th of March 2023 by the European Commission and the OECD. The ambition was to create a multistakeholder learning network that brought together more than 150 policy officers, programme managers, young entrepreneurs, networks (including social entrepreneurship networks) and researchers to:

• Hear directly from young entrepreneurs about their motivations and ambitions, successes and challenges, and unmet support needs.
• Exchange on “what works” and innovative approaches to supporting young entrepreneurs.

The YEPA included more than 20 events between the launch in 2023 and the second in-person meeting in Brussels on 6-7 October 2025. These events examined issues such as improving access to finance (e.g. microfinance, crowdfunding), building entrepreneurship skills (e.g. peer learning, online learning), expanding networks, leveraging role models, overcoming the unique challenges faced by green, digital and social entrepreneurs, strengthening policy design and delivery, and much more. Each event featured expert speakers, group work and case studies that showcased young entrepreneurs and impactful initiatives.

Across these events, YEPA participants identified five overarching lessons. Building on these insights, a series of five action-oriented policy pointers were also developed. These lessons and policy pointers are developed in the present document. They provide high-level guidance on actionable steps that can increase the relevance and effectiveness of policy interventions. Stakeholders can make use of the present document to engage in policy dialogues with their local, regional and/or national governments and implement the lessons in their own work and projects.