YBI announces Global Mentor of the Year 2021

On International Mentoring Day, Youth Business International (YBI) promoted and celebrated the power of mentoring, recognising the exceptional achievements of our mentors and young entrepreneurs across our global network by crowning 2021’s Global Mentor of the Year, Caxton Njuki from Sweden.

Celebrating YBI’s 20 years of mentoring expertise, the network crowned one mentor as 2021’s Global Mentor of the Year, following a series of International Mentoring Days in six regions to identify regional mentors of the year, each of which was entered as a finalist.

Hosted by the General Manager of Youth Business Trinidad and Tobago, Shedron Collins, we heard the truly inspiring stories of the finalists and the young entrepreneurs they supported. Meet the seven finalists: Juan Andres (Youth Business Spain), Junella Trotman (Dominica Youth Business Trust), Marcos Amasifuen (Perspektiva Peru), Caxton Njuki (NyföretagarCentrum Sweden), Sabrina Islam Bhuya (B’YEAH Bangladesh), Subhash Shejwal (BYST India) and Tatiana Volchegorskaya (Youth Business Russia).

Awarded by Marta Krupinska, Head of Google for Startups UK and YBI’s Chair, Caxton Njuki was crowned 2021’s Global Mentor of the Year! Caxton’s dedication and passion for supporting young entrepreneurs with our Swedish member NyföretagarCentrum make him a phenomenal mentor and inspiring ambassador for mentoring. Caxton came to Sweden in 1987 as a refugee from Uganda and developed a passion for giving back. The support he provided to his mentee Jessika Sillanpä has been invaluable. We are thrilled to announce Caxton as our Global Mentor of the Year 2021!

Caxton Njuki, YBI Mentor of the Year 2021- “I’ve found my purpose and it’s to give back.”

Jessika Sillanpä, Founder of Jessikasstory- “At the start of my journey it was hard to dream big. Caxton helped me believe in myself and my business.”

“It’s always inspiring to hear about the impact that our mentors are having on the young entrepreneurs they support. There have been some extraordinarily moving stories across our regional events and a real sense of the life changing impact that a great mentor can have on a young person and their business. I am thrilled that we have been able to recognise the contribution of our global community of mentors.”

– Jo Gray, Director of Membership Services and Engagement, YBI

A huge congratulations to Caxton and all of our finalists for their outstanding determination and enthusiasm towards making a difference to the lives of many young entrepreneurs. We continue to admire the incredible work of our networks’ mentors and feel inspired by the impact they have on their mentees.