YEIB-MANCO Targets 30,000 Liberian Youth, Moves to Tackle Credit Barriers

Monrovia — The Youth Entrepreneurship and Investment Bank Management Company (YEIB-MANCO) is targeting at least 30,000 young Liberians for direct support and another 120,000 indirectly, as it rolls out a financing model aimed at addressing some of the major barriers confronting local entrepreneurs, including high interest rates, stringent collateral requirements and limited access to long-term credit.

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By Gerald C. Koinyeneh

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YEIB-MANCO Chief Executive Officer Joseph F. Sando disclosed the targets Thursday during an engagement with journalists in Monrovia, where he outlined the institution’s mandate, financing structure and plans to expand entrepreneurship opportunities across Liberia.

Sando described YEIB-MANCO as a multifunctional institution established through an African Development Bank-backed initiative with the Government of Liberia, with the Ministry of Commerce and Industry serving as a key institutional anchor.

“When anyone hears the word YEIBMANCO, the thing that should register to the mind is sustainable development, sustainable economic development for our country, Liberia, and by extension, Africa,” Sando said.

Despite the word “bank” in its name, Sando said YEIB-MANCO is designed to go beyond traditional lending by combining financing with business development, technical assistance and incubation services.

“It’s a combination of many companies that carry the weight of development in finance, business and incubation,” he said.

Beyond Lending

Sando said YEIB-MANCO remains in its formative stage, with about six people directly working for the institution and nearly 15 when personnel connected to the project implementation structure are included.

However, he said its mandate is nationwide, with a particular focus on young people and women.

Responding about how ordinary Liberians would benefit, Sando said the initiative is designed to reach entrepreneurs across all 15 counties rather than concentrate opportunities in Monrovia.

“To me, in my heart, there is no ordinary Liberian. Everybody in Liberia is an exceptional, extraordinary person,” he said.

According to Sando, beneficiaries will not simply receive financing based on business ideas. Prospective entrepreneurs will first undergo incubation, training and coaching to assess their capabilities and identify sectors where their businesses have the strongest potential.

“You prepare the businessman in all sectors, especially agriculture, and then you take them to the next stage of financing. You give them money,” he said.

“So you’re not just coming to give money to somebody who tells you, ‘Yeah, I can do business.’ You’re preparing and you’re teaching them, you’re coaching them as to how to go about doing the business.”

After financing, Sando said YEIBMANCO would continue monitoring and evaluating beneficiaries and their businesses to assess performance and economic impact.

Three-Pronged Financing Model

Sando said the institution plans to operate through three special-purpose vehicles covering technical assistance and business development services, a guarantee fund and an investment fund.

Under the business development component, entrepreneurs would undergo incubation designed to identify their skills, business interests and appropriate sectors.

The guarantee mechanism, he said, would involve partnerships with commercial banks to address major financing obstacles facing Liberian entrepreneurs, particularly high interest rates, demanding collateral requirements and short repayment periods.

YEIBMANCO could share financing risks with participating financial institutions, Sando said, potentially reducing the collateral burden on entrepreneurs while helping negotiate more favorable interest rates and longer repayment periods.

He illustrated the difficulty faced by entrepreneurs who may be required to provide collateral worth substantially more than the amount they seek to borrow.

“But if I had that money, I wouldn’t come here,” he said.

The investment component would focus on direct coaching and financing in sectors including agriculture, light manufacturing, logistics, technology and recreation.

Sando said the broader objective is to encourage more Liberians to pursue entrepreneurship and reduce heavy dependence on government employment.

He argued that sustainable private businesses could help ease pressure on the public sector, where large numbers of job seekers compete for limited government positions while personnel costs consume significant public resources.

Demand Outpaces Pilot Capacity

Sando said early demand for YEIBMANCO’s business development program has already demonstrated the scale of interest among young Liberians.

According to him, the institution launched a pilot call for applications in August seeking 50 participants for business development services training.

Within the first week, about 300 people had applied, with applications subsequently exceeding 640 for the 50 available slots.

“That tells you how much young people are there outside there waiting, just for that or something to trigger to see how they can go after their success,” Sando said.

He said teams have also been dispatched to Grand Bassa, Nimba and Margibi counties to engage prospective beneficiaries and verify businesses rather than relying solely on documents submitted by applicants.

Sando stressed that transparency and verifiable data would be central to the initiative, saying journalists and the public should eventually be able to independently confirm beneficiaries and businesses supported under the program.

“We want our people to go and interview the beneficiaries, so that tomorrow you people who understand the watchdog, when you come in, we have the data and data is provable,” he said.

$1.03 Billion Financing Gap

On financing, Sando said initial support is coming from the African Development Bank but argued that considerably greater investment will eventually be required to build a vibrant and sustainable micro, small and medium enterprise sector in Liberia.

He cited approximately US$1.03 billion as the level of financing he believes would ultimately be required to strengthen Liberia’s MSME sector, while acknowledging that current resources remain far below that figure.

“So bringing maybe US$10 million, US$15 million, US$20 million, that’s just a drop of water in a mighty ocean,” Sando said. “However, we’re encouraged that at least we have something to start with.”

He said YEIBMANCO is targeting no fewer than 30,000 young people for direct support, with approximately 120,000 expected to benefit indirectly.

While the initiative places particular emphasis on people between ages 18 and 35 and women, Sando said older business owners would not automatically be excluded.

He said businesses owned by older Liberians could qualify if young people constitute about 60% to 70% of their workforce or occupy significant management positions.

The approach, he said, is intended to support not only businesses owned by young people but also enterprises capable of creating meaningful employment and leadership opportunities for them.

Sando thanked the African Development Bank and Liberian government officials and institutions involved in establishing the initiative, saying their collaboration helped create the foundation for the program.

For Sando, the broader ambition is to build businesses capable of creating jobs, generating sustainable incomes and reducing young Liberians’ dependence on government employment.

“We have taken on the challenge that we will lead our people to making sure Liberia becomes second to none in economic development,” Sando said.