Programme Overview
AI is changing how businesses operate, but for many young entrepreneurs, the tools, training, and support needed to use it well remain out of reach. That is why Youth Business International (YBI), supported by Bank of America, has launched the EmpowerAI Digital Accelerator: a free, five-week, self-paced programme for young entrepreneurs in Germany.
The programme is open to entrepreneurs aged 18 to 35 who are based in Germany and currently running a business, and is aimed at founders ready to use AI to sharpen their offer, build a predictable sales system, and develop a pitch for funders and customers. Applications are particularly encouraged from entrepreneurs in underserved communities, including women, refugee and migrant entrepreneurs, and entrepreneurs with disabilities.
Programme structure
The programme runs over five weeks and is delivered digitally through YBI’s EYE (Excellence in Youth Entrepreneurship) Academy, which includes social features allowing participants to connect with peers and discuss what they’re learning. It consists of seven self-paced modules using practical AI workflows to generate outcomes built from each participant’s own business.
The modules are organised around three areas of the business: offer, sales, and pitch.
- Offer: Participants work through an offer diagnostic to assess price-value alignment without resorting to discounting, and develop a single, clear value proposition designed to convert.
- Sales: Participants build a sales funnel blueprint that allows them to diagnose and fix drop-offs within 24 hours, set up a pre-qualification system to filter leads, define a channel strategy to reduce cost per lead, and establish a lead engine designed to keep generating leads consistently.
- Pitch: Participants develop and test a funding-ready pitch designed to work with both funders and customers.
By the end of the programme, participants will have a de-risked offer, a predictable sales system, and a credible pitch, each built from data drawn from their own business. Three cohorts will run between July and November 2026.