Albania

Real lives

YAPS Social Business

 

The dramatic pace of change in Albania has taken a heavy toll on the most vulnerable children and young people, including parentless youth, those with disability, migrants and Roma.

In order to ensure that such young people are better able to harness some of the opportunities of an emerging free market for their own benefit, UNICEF Albania is working alongside the private sector in the development of the Youth Albania Parcel Service (YAPS) Social Business project exclusively employing such disadvantaged youth.

YAPS opened its doors for business in Tirana on 1 June 2001. Some 40 young people leaving children's homes, youth with disability and those from minority backgrounds are employed, running almost all aspects of the business under the management of the Don Bosco Foundation. Messengers and couriers are working between the international airport, Tirana and Durres. Expansion is occuring gradually to include other cities. These young people are provided with employment but the benefits go far beyond the pay check. Most importantly, they are building up self-esteem and confidence. Most of the work force of YAPS have lived in state run institutions for much of their lives. Their YAPS job acts as the best possible strategy for reintegration into productive participation in society as adults.

Building public and private sector partnership through Social Business

Interest and support from the private sector in the YAPS venture was high because the project was designed as a business redistributing earnings and profits for children in need. The leading bank Italy-Banca Intesa BCI provided the resources needed. And leaders of the private sector were eager to participate in effective and productive social development schemes and expressed frustration with traditional corporate giving experiences. The enthusiasm and committment of these private sector leaders got even stronger after their visit to a twin project in Azerbaijan (a report by BBC). It was clear that the Social Business model opened a level of dialogue with the private sector about the urgent needs of vulnerable youth. Quite early on an impressive range of business partners emerged and formed a foundation to support further work in this direction.

With strong governmental support, it is also anticipated that this project will serve as replicable model for designing creative business solutions to complex social problems. The surplus profits made by the youngsters will be invested in their own training, developing and expanding the business and also into other projects aimed at tackling poverty and social exclusion.

The YAPS Foundation The YAPS Foundation - the First Lady of Albania, bank presidents, media moguls, senior law partners, diplomats, general managers of major international and national corporations - is deeply committed to Social Business principles. Foundation members are advancing ideas for new social business ventures - advertising, sales, product delivery - that can be spun-off from the YAPS delivery service. By joining with the private sector UNICEF has been able to broker relationships that harness the swift Albanian economic growth for urgent social investments that cannot wait for reform of social service financing and delivery systems. In the process the YAPS Foundation has emerged as a unique forum for child and youth rights advocacy.

 

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