What is it about

A YEEP entrepreneurship week is designed for Ethiopian students, who would like to join the local Business Incubation Center but who do not yet have a very clear business idea. During the week we will do trainings on basic skills, which are useful for young entrepreneurs. And we will use the method of design thinking to develop products that are actually useful for potential customers. If participants would prefer working on more technical aspects, this is possible by working with the second year batch of the local business incubation center in Hawassa.

Besides the business aspects, much of the learning, especially in the field of intercultural communication, also takes place in informal sessions and free time, which makes YEEP a truly international and intercultural experience.

Would you like to be part of the next edition of YEEP Week?

YEEP Entrepreneurship Week, autumn 2023

The next visit to Ethiopia is in the pipeline: From 28 October to 4 November 2023, we will organize the next YEEP week in Hawassa, Ethiopia. Application for participants from Switzerland is now open. Please note: the dates are not yet confirmed as Hawassa University does not yet know their exact semester dates. You can chose among 2 alternative options for the date in the application form and we will take the final decision once we have the confirmation from Hawassa University.

On what will we work on?

During the YEEP week, we will work with a group of Ethiopian students, who do not yet have a clear business idea or who would like to sharpen an idea they already have. We will do trainings in basic skills from young entrepreneurs and use the method of design thinking to develop products that are actually useful for potential customers. If participants would prefer working on more technical aspects, this is possible by working with the second year batch of the local business incubation center in Hawassa.

Apply now!

Are you a student at one of our partner schools (first priority) or from another institution? Would you like to work during one week with Ethiopian engineering students from Hawassa to develop business ideas or support them in some techical topics?

Then apply now before Wednesday, 9 August 2023 to become a member of our team and to travel to Ethiopia with us.

To register, click on the link above or scan the QR code below:

Why should you participate? Because YEEP will give you:

  • A unique opportunity to practice interdisciplinary collaboration in an international context.
  • An insight in a fascinating country and its culture
  • The possibility to apply your know how practically for a meaningful cause
    Support in preparation and during the trip by an experienced team
  • Possibility to apply for a scholarship to cover parts of your travel costs

If you are interested, we strongly recommend you to participate in one of our online information events, in order to better understand, what the project is all about and what are the exact requirements to participate.

 

  • Tuesday 16 May, 20h
  • Thursday 25 May, 19h
  • Monday 5 June, 20h
  • Friday 16 June, 19h
  • Tuesday 27 June, 20h
  • Thursday 6 July, 19h
  • Thursday 3 August, 20h
  • Tuesday 8 August, 19h

 

To join the meeting click on this link above or scan the QR code below:

If you need individual help or if you cant make it to our meetings, contact Stephan Brun

Details

Partner schools: hftm, HFW/ WKS Bern, BFH Biel/ Bern, CEJEF, CIP, StudentImpact, HEIA-FR, ETHZ

Dates: Departure from Geneva on Thursday 26 October or from Zurich on Friday 27 October 2023. Return to Switzerland on Monday 6 November 2023.

Alternative dates: The dates are not yet confirmed. In the application form, you can indicate your preference for the main date (28 October to 4 November) or two alternative dates (4 November to 11 November or 18 November to 25 November).

Who is behind it: YEEP is a project of DEVENTURE, an association based in Bern, Switzerland. DEVENTURE is a non-profit organization who offers different projects that promote entrepreneurial thinking and exchange between Switzerland and Ethiopia.

What our former participants say

“The hackathon week was a massive experience. In consideration to the intercultural exchange and furthermore for the work with people from other countries.” – Pascal

 

“A unique experience with a deep insight into what happens on the ground. I will never forget how open and interested the Ethiopian students were.” – Damian

“The most impressive moment in Ethiopia was to get invited to a family home. It was very interesting to see how they live and they were very hospitable. Even thougt the parents couldnt speak english” – Andreas

Learn more about YEEP

YEEP stands for “Young Entrepreneur Exchange Project”. It is a joint initiative of different Ethiopian and Swiss partners, which was created 2013 during a visit of professors and students of the Bern University of Applied Sciences at Hawassa University in Ethiopia. In Switzerland, YEEP is organized and coordinated by the association DEVENTURE. YEEP encourages an entrepreneurial mindset among young people, fosters opportunities for international exchange and interdisciplinary, intercultural learning and supports concrete projects and initiatives of motivated young people who take fate in their own hands.

Initially, YEEP started in 2014 with the concept of a business plan competition. Since then, the concept has evolved into an International exposure week, where more tailor-made solutions are offered to the teams. In 2019 YEEP-tech, a new, parallel format, has been developed, which will be complementary to the initial YEEP-business format.

Both, the tech and the business format, have a similar general approach: Students from different Swiss schools and universities travel to Ethiopia and work during a bit more than a week on a specific project.

About YEEP

About YEEP

Team and Partners
YEEP is a project carried out by a team of volunteers from Switzerland and our partners from Ethiopia. The legal responsibility for the YEEP project lies with the association "DEVENTURE". In Ethiopia, the Institute of Technology of Hawassa University has integrated YEEP into its activities to promote entrepreneurship among students. Learn more about the team and their partners.
Past YEEP weeks

Past YEEP weeks

A few insights
Find out more about what happened during the YEEP Weeks in the past years, watch our aftermovies and click through our gallery.
YEEP Alumni

YEEP Alumni

Learn more about YEEP
YEEP already existed since 2013 - many students have successfully completed the week and great ideas have been turned into reality. A look back at the past YEEP weeks with exciting insights from former participants.