Raising young people’s awareness of entrepreneurship from an early age develops their autonomy, engagement, initiative and decision-making skills and a taste for risk-taking. Raising awareness about entrepreneurship is at the heart of Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg’s mission and its Mini-Companies programme. It is aimed at pupils aged 15 to 19 in general and classic secondary education. For one year, they run a mini-company in which they are responsible for decision-making and the day-to-day management. In addition to financial support, BIL and its employees will assist young people in their project and pass on their knowledge of the business world and business management.

“We have been supporting JEL for four years, and we are delighted to have the opportunity to further develop our collaboration by participating in the Mini-Companies programme. Building young people’s awareness of entrepreneurship is crucial for their future careers, and it is an honour to contribute to this objective. These are tomorrow’s entrepreneurs and managers,” said Tom Lessel, Head of Corporate Banking at BIL.

“We are delighted to have the opportunity to further develop our collaboration with BIL. It is important to continue to invest in the education and future of young people. Providing young people with skills that will be crucial tomorrow is part of our mission,” stressed Stéphanie Damgé, Director at Jonk Entrepreneuren Luxembourg asbl.

As a committed and responsible company, BIL has placed support for education at the heart of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy. This new partnership with JEL is just one of many joint initiatives since 2017. For example, BIL supports the Young Enterprise Project which is aimed at young people in higher education. The bank is also involved in the activities of the association Alumni JEL, which brings together former pupils having participated in one of its programmes.