Social Business
UNICEF initiated the formation of a ‘social business’ to help marginalized young people -- youth lacking parental care, those with disabilities, ethnic minorities and survivors of trafficking and domestic abuse – who have been largely cast aside during Albania’s transition. UNICEF brokered an unprecedented collaboration between the private sector, government, civil society and donors to establish Youth Albania Professional Services (YAPS) in 2001, which began as a mail and parcel delivery service employing these marginalized groups. It quickly became self supporting and has since expanded into a number of new ventures with several dozen employees. These newly self-confident young workers have been transformed from societal ‘burdens’ into taxpayers, breaking down the stigma that had marked their lives.
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