Citi invests in young entrepreneurs in the Nordics

Wed, Oct 29, 2014 07:15 CET

Citi Foundation, in partnership with Junior Achievement, announced a new partnership that will support nearly 40,000 students in entrepreneurship education throughout the Nordic region. It is expected that approximately 15 percent of the students will start their own businesses as a result of this initiative.

"This is part of a global Citi Foundation initiative that is supporting philanthropic efforts in the Nordic region. It is necessary to equip young people with entrepreneurship flare as well as financial knowledge if we want to see more innovation and sustainable job creation in the future. Here we have the next generation of entrepreneurs", says Eirik Winter, Nordic countries Chairman at Citi.

Citi and the Citi Foundation have long been one of Junior Achievement’s strongest global supporters, and the grant has now developed to a commitment with Junior Achievement in the Nordic region with programs in Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Citi volunteers will participate as mentors and as jurors in the JA Year Competition which is scheduled to take place in May 2015.

PROGRAMS IN THE NORDICS

Sweden: Support over 22,000 high school students in entrepreneurship education and the target group for this partnership is disadvantaged students. During the academic year, the high school students will start, run and dismantle a mini-company. They will go through all the stages of a real company. It’s expected that 400 young people will start their own business as a result of this intervention.

Denmark: Teach entrepreneurship skills to youth from vocational schools. With the "Business Start Up - Vocational educations", the students will achieve the skills and the knowledge needed to start their own business by teaching materials containing cases telling the story of an entrepreneur. The aim is to give 100 students a case they can relate to, a business from their own area of education which can then function as a role model to start up their own business.

Finland: Support over 4,500 students to set up their mini-company with real money. Beyond increasing their business knowledge and entrepreneurship experience, it is expected that 15% of participants will create their own enterprises within 5 years of the program. At the moment 4,000 young people between ages 14-18 in Finland are participating in this program and a long term goal is to reach 15% of the age group, approximately 10,000 youngsters

Norway: Serve the 12,000 students that participate yearly in The Company Program to adapt to an I-PAD digital platform. When the program is available on smartphones and I-pads, the results will improve, the quality will be better and more students will be involved.

In 2014, the Citi Foundation is investing $4.2M in Junior Achievement programs across 52 countries.

For further information, please contact:
Anneli Sundström, communications director, Citi, anneli.sundstrom@citi.com.

Junior Achievement
Junior Achievement is a global non-profit organization providing educational programs in entrepreneurship, workforce readiness and financial literacy in 121 countries. Since the 1980’s, Junior Achievement in the Nordic region has educated high school students in entrepreneurship through the education program called the Company Program. During a school year, Company Program participants start, run and liquidate a company. Students develop their creativity; receive insight into business conditions and its driving forces and gain awareness of the importance of entrepreneurship through a combination of theoretical and practical training.

Citi Foundation
The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress in communities around the world and focuses on initiatives that expand financial inclusion. We collaborate with best-in-class partners to create measurable economic improvements that strengthen low-income families and communities. Through a "More than Philanthropy" approach, Citi's business resources and human capital enhance our philanthropic investments and impact. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.

Citi
Citi, the leading global financial services company, does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management. Citi has been in the Nordic countries since the 1970s, with offices in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Oslo and Helsinki.

Citi invests in young entrepreneurs in the Nordics

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