The YES DRC Network is a leading social youth enterprise operating in one of the most challenging places of today, the Democratic Republic of Congo which is a country that has a ways to go yet, after more than two decades of conflicts.
 
 
The YES DRC Network was created on the 16th of November 2007 and officially registered, as a not for profit community based organization, with the Ministry of Justice – Provincial division of justice under the registration n° JUST.G.S.112/S-KV/2766/2009 dated November 11th, 2009 and with the Ministry of Youth and Sports – Provincial Division of youth under the registration n° 131/MJS/DP-J/SK/2115/2008 of June 6th, 2008.
 
The YES DRC Network is also the official host organization of the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2008.
We are really interested into collaborating with a variety of action partners to become more empowered to serve our specific target group made up of young people aged between 5 and 30 including both urban and rural street children, child soldiers, refugee children and other vulnerable young adults from homeless and poorest families.
 
These young girls and boys are particularly high-risk and in critical need of interventions that assist them in recovery and filling social, behavioural, educational, and other developmental gaps resulting from extended periods of civil unrest in their respective communities.
 
The more partnerships we build, the better results we yield. Developing a variety of action partnerships with families, youth-led organizations, specialized government agencies, training institutions, UN agencies, Donors, International NGOs and Civil Society NGOs will empower us to create an enabling environment where our young girls and boys are prepared for future life as productive, contributing citizens, well-equipped to create a job or to take a job and become agents for social change.
 
The YES DRC network provides needed support to children, youth and adults in the development sectors including the : Renewable Energies, Information and Communication Technologies, Rural Development (Agriculture and Forestry business), Water and Sanitation, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, Conflict Transformation and Peace Consolidation, Arts and Crafts, Cultural Diversity, Literacy and Vocational Programmes.
 
The YES DRC network came into being in 2009 after the DRC Rework workshop which took place from 11th to 12th of May 2009 in the town of Bukavu and the attendance of 6 delegates from DRC to Rework The World summit in Leksand, Sweden on June 2 – 5, 2010.
 
The Congolese young individuals and youth-led organizations are full of ideas, willing to make a difference into their communities, and are able to give whatever they can to implement specific self-employment projects for themselves and other members of their communities.
 
They, however, lack leadership and entrepreneurship experiences and knowledge. To help transform their dreams into reality, YES DRC network in partnership with the University of CEPROMEC – Superior Institute of Management (ISM/Bukavu) have decided to launch short and long term educative and supportive programmes to provide to youth in need with leadership and entrepreneurship skills, small micro credits and loans as start up capital, mentoring and tutoring services to empower them to create small, scalable, replicable and sustainable green ventures to live on; and thus become a tool to draw more youth interest to leadership, entrepreneurship and community services.
 
The intent is that, as more youth take part, more become economically self-reliant, civically active, and socially responsible—critical traits needed in building a better future in every community.
 
Since its inception, the YES DRC Network has led a variety of community development and youth livelihood programs which include the (1) provision of business skills to help youth within the inner community create income generating activities, (2) implementation of a breeding project of livestock about 27 pigs, 25 goats, 20 rabbits and 60 chickens to serve 30 war orphaned boys and girls into his community, (3) celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Weeks (GEW 2008 – 2009: www.unleashingideas.org), and (4) the host of 40 training and capacity building seminars and workshops that over 2000 participants attended. We have also succeeded to send a total number of 10 young people to some international summits, conferences and forums (as both speakers and delegates) such as Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2010 hosted by the Higher Colleges of Technology, Dubai, United Arab Emirates in partnership with the Kauffman Foundation (www.kauffman.org) and the Global Entrepreneurship Week (www.unleashingideas.org); the Tällberg forum 2009 (www.tallergfoundation.org); the YES forums and global summits on youth employment from 2006 to 2010 (www.yesweb.org & www.reworktheworld.org); International Seminar on Small Hydro Power, Co-organized by UNIDO and Government of Kerala state from 11th to 15th of December 2007 in Kerala – India.