Leading the next chapter of high-growth youth entrepreneurship: YBI’s new High Flyers Guidelines

At Youth Business International (YBI), we know that supporting high-growth entrepreneurship is not only about accelerating businesses, but also about shaping systems that enable young entrepreneurs to scale sustainably, inclusively, and with impact. As we conclude our High Flyers II programme, funded by the Argidius Foundation, we are launching a strengthened set of High Flyers Guidelines that reflect this ambition. 

These guidelines are the product of YBI’s High Flyers Community of Practice — a structured, peer-led learning space that brought together 11 enterprise support organisations (ESOs) from across the YBI network to test ideas, challenge assumptions and collectively raise the standard of high-growth support. Over the course of the programme, participating YBI members shared evidence, piloted new delivery models to support young entrepreneurs, and engaged in open, practitioner-to-practitioner learning. 

YBI members involved in the High Flyers Community of Practice included:

• CAP Youth Empowerment Institute (Kenya)
• Cordaid Uganda
• Corporación Minuto de Dios (Colombia)
• Enterprise Uganda
• Acción Emprendedora (Chile)
• Action Finance Initiative (Greece)
• Habitat (Türkiye)
• ONOW (Myanmar)
• Somo (Kenya)
• Work Together Foundation (South Korea)
• YCAB Foundation (Indonesia) (former YBI member)

Representing diverse geographies, markets and entrepreneurial ecosystems, their collective experience and leadership have directly shaped how high growth businesses will be supported by YBI members now and in the future. 

The result of this shared expertise is a set of practitioner-led guidelines grounded in real-world delivery and informed by the specific challenges that high-growth entrepreneurs actually face. They are designed to help ESOs sharpen their strategies, strengthen their models and better position young entrepreneurs to achieve sustainable growth.

High Flyers Guidelines 

1. Redefining what high growth really means 

The High Flyers guidelines provide a nuanced definition of high-growth entrepreneurship. Too often, growth is narrowly measured through revenue or rigid timeframes. The High Flyers Guidelines move beyond this, recognising ambition, entrepreneurial behaviour, growth mindset, and market opportunity as critical indicators of potential. 

This shift matters. Many young entrepreneurs with strong growth trajectories, particularly those facing structural barriers such as social and gender bias, limited access to finance and networks, may not immediately meet traditional “high-performance” benchmarks. The guidelines call on ESOs to adopt more intentional, context-aware screening approaches, including interviews and qualitative insights, to identify and back young entrepreneurs with the greatest long-term potential. 

2. Building adaptive skills for scaling businesses 

High-growth entrepreneurship demands training that evolves as businesses evolve. The guidelines place strong emphasis on segmented, adaptive learning pathways that respond to young entrepreneurs’ changing needs as they move from their initial product-market fit to scale. 

Learnings from High Flyers II have demonstrated that grouping entrepreneurs by growth stage or shared challenges significantly increases relevance and strengthens peer learning. Crucially, training is repositioned as part of a wider set of activities and a longer-term growth journey, rather than a standalone intervention. ESOs are encouraged to continually refresh content, localise materials, and leverage internal and external capacity to sustain high-growth support over time. 

3. Designing inclusive pathways to finance 

Access to appropriate finance remains one of the most decisive factors in whether high-growth businesses succeed. The guidelines reflect a strategic, ecosystem-aware approach, recognising that young entrepreneurs require different types of investment readiness support to be positioned to access capital at different stages of growth.  

Examples from YBI members demonstrate how structured pathways can support young entrepreneurs to progress from grants to debt, equity or blended finance. Financial literacy, reinvestment strategies, and exposure to diverse funding options are essential for long-term independence and resilience. 

“What we have seen as an impact is an increase in access to finance by the young entrepreneurs, especially people with disabilities and women.” – Rose Namutebi, Project Coordinator, Cordaid Uganda 

4. Strengthening mentorship through structure and community 

Mentorship is a defining feature of the High Flyers model, with the guidelines reinforcing the importance of structure, consistency and quality. ESOs increasingly work with trusted non-profit advisory partners to ensure access to skilled mentors who understand both business growth and local context. 

Structured mentorship cycles, supported by YBI tools and diagnostics, help formalise expectations and drive accountability. At the same time, peer-to-peer learning and group mentoring have emerged as powerful complements. Digital communities, including WhatsApp groups, have enabled young entrepreneurs to exchange insights, solve problems collaboratively and build lasting support networks. The guidelines encourage ESOs to intentionally design mentorship models that combine expert guidance with strong peer ecosystems. 

5. Taking a leadership role within the ecosystem 

High-growth entrepreneurship does not happen in isolation. The guidelines call on ESOs to engage with their ecosystems strategically and with purpose. This means leading with clear objectives — whether influencing policy, unlocking new sources of finance or building partnerships in specialist sectors. 

High-impact engagements, such as demo days or curated site visits, can connect young entrepreneurs directly with decision-makers, customers and investors. Strong alumni networks and communication channels ensure that entrepreneurs remain informed about opportunities and market trends. Storytelling is also elevated as a leadership tool, enabling ESOs to showcase impact, influence stakeholders and align ecosystem actors around shared goals. 

6. Embedding learning through strategic MEL 

The final guideline supports ESOs to embed monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL) as a core part of programme delivery — not as a reporting requirement, but as a strategic tool for learning, adaptation and growth. It sets out a more disciplined, practical approach to monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL). Data collection is framed as a strategic asset, not an administrative burden, when it is well designed and integrated into delivery. 

ESOs involved in High Flyers II highlighted the importance of staff ownership, simple digital systems and collecting data through channels young entrepreneurs already use, such as WhatsApp or QR codes. The guidelines encourage a focus on a small number of high-value indicators, collected at key moments along the entrepreneur journey: baseline, programme completion and longer-term follow-up. MEL is explicitly linked to learning, communications and resource mobilisation, ensuring insights are translated into stronger programmes and clearer impact narratives. 

“We have implemented guideline four, Mentorship, and guideline six, Monitoring and Evaluation. As a result, we’ve seen a number of entrepreneurs even more than double the amount of capital in their business and their sales revenue increased.” – Andrew Niwagira, Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Specialist, Enterprise Uganda 

Continuing the High Flyers legacy 

The full High Flyers Guidelines are now available via the EYE Academy, YBI’s online learning and community platform dedicated to supporting excellence in youth entrepreneurship. Building on the momentum of High Flyers II, YBI remains committed to strengthening high-growth support across its global network, continuously learning, adapting and investing in approaches that enable young entrepreneurs to scale sustainably. Through these guidelines, YBI will continue to support ESOs to raise ambition, deepen impact and ensure that high-growth young entrepreneurs are equipped to lead resilient businesses that create jobs and contribute to sustainable economic growth. 

The High Flyers journey doesn’t end here. As YBI members continue to test and adapt the guidelines, we encourage you to share your experiences, insights and ideas via the EYE Academy. The platform remains open for ongoing learning and collaboration — building a stronger ecosystem of support for high-growth entrepreneurs across the YBI network.