YOCEL

What YOCEL does

YOCEL is a Liberian nonprofit social enterprise accelerator founded in 2013 and headquartered in Paynesville, Montserrado County. The organization empowers young people — particularly women and girls — to engage in entrepreneurship and job creation through a portfolio of integrated programs: the Jon Freeman School of Social Entrepreneurship (structured business training), the Bizbox Entrepreneurship Dialogue Series (pitching and networking), Business Climate Analysis (market research), the AYEESummit (leadership convenings), Wologizi Funds (seed funding), the Youth Research Think Tank Fellowship, and the Livelihood Accelerator Program (rural economic inclusion). Programs are delivered free of charge to beneficiaries via workshops, mentorship, and dialogue events across Montserrado, Lofa, and Gbarpolu counties.

The organization operates a grant-funded nonprofit business model, supported by 15+ international development partners including USAID, the European Union, TrustAfrica, UNIDO, the Education Development Center, the Swedish Embassy, Fund for Global Human Rights, Mercy Corps, Orange Foundation, BMZ, Plan International, UNDP, Oxfam ibis, DAI, and others. Go-to-market is community-led, relying on direct community engagement, TVET institution partnerships, and government collaboration. Per its 2024 Impact Report, YOCEL has incubated 321 women and youth entrepreneurs, documented 383% income growth among participants, established 57 new businesses, and supported 91 jobs created. The core offering is a service-based accelerator methodology; no proprietary technology platform or AI/ML components are disclosed, and operations are run with 26 employees from the Paynesville headquarters.

Name

YOCEL

Legal name

YOCEL

Website

https://yocel.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

YOCEL is a Liberian nonprofit social enterprise accelerator that empowers women and youth through entrepreneurship training, dialogue, research, and seed funding, supported by international donors including USAID, EU, and TrustAfrica.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Entrepreneurship Development

NAICS

Professional and Management Development Training (61143), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Rural Livelihoods & Economic Empowerment (BPAGABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Community Education (EDAAAFAK), NGO/Nonprofit Education Programs & Service Delivery (EDADALAC), Microfinance, Financial Inclusion & Inclusive Markets (BPAGABAM)

Keywords

• Social entrepreneurship training
• Youth entrepreneurship programs
• Livelihood accelerator
• Women empowerment programs
• Business development services

Headquarters

HQ city

Paynesville

HQ country

Liberia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: YOCEL operates as a social enterprise that receives funding from international donors and development organizations to support its accelerator programs and community outreach initiatives.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

YOCEL is a Liberian nonprofit social enterprise accelerator that delivers entrepreneurship training, livelihood skills development, business dialogue forums, research, and seed funding to women, youth, and children in Liberia. Its offerings span structured entrepreneurship education (Jon Freeman School), peer dialogue and pitching (BizBox), research and policy analysis (Business Climate Analysis), youth leadership summits (AYEESummit), and small grant funding (Wologizi Funds), plus the Livelihood Accelerator Program for rural women and youth.

Product overview

YOCEL offers a suite of social entrepreneurship accelerator programs targeting women, youth, and children in Liberia. The portfolio includes six integrated core programs: The Jon Freeman School of Social Entrepreneurship (structured training for business development), Bizbox Entrepreneurship Dialogue Series (peer networking and pitching), Business Climate Analysis (research-driven market intelligence), AYEESummit (leadership summits for young business leaders), Wologizi Funds (financial support and seed funding), and the Youth Research Think Tank Fellowship (research skills development). The Livelihood Accelerator Program provides intensive short-term training for rural populations. These programs work together to provide a complete ecosystem supporting entrepreneurs from training through funding and ongoing market engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Jon Freeman School of Social Entrepreneurship: A core program of YOCEL focused on social entrepreneurship training and development.
• Bizbox Entrepreneurship Dialogue Series
• Business Climate Analysis
• AYEESummit
• Wologizi Funds

Products and services

• The Jon Freeman School of Social Entrepreneurship A structured training program within YOCEL's core offerings focused on empowering entrepreneurs to develop business models and sustainable growth strategies; designed for women, youth, and aspiring social entrepreneurs in Liberia.
• Bizbox Entrepreneurship Dialogue Series A dialogue series initiative bringing entrepreneurs and stakeholders together for networking, pitching competitions, and knowledge sharing in social entrepreneurship; targets women and youth entrepreneurs in Liberia.
• Business Climate Analysis Research and analysis program examining the Liberian business environment to inform entrepreneurship development and policy advocacy; produces research used by YOCEL and partners.
• AYEESummit (Young Business Leaders) Summit program for young business leaders focused on leadership development and youth empowerment in entrepreneurship; targets aspiring young entrepreneurs in Liberia.
• Wologizi Funds Financial support program providing seed funding resources to entrepreneurs and youth for business development and livelihood creation; provides capital access to women and youth entrepreneurs in Liberia.
• Livelihood Accelerator Program A pilot initiative providing one-month intensive training for rural women and youth in livelihood skills and social entrepreneurship, designed and executed by YOCEL with TrustAfrica funding; piloted with 21 rural women and youth in Sappimah Community, Gbarpolu County.
• Youth Research Think Tank Fellowship A one-month fellowship providing recent graduates with practical research exposure, mentorship, and skills development in the research field; part of YOCEL's Business Climate Analysis core programs and supports USAID Youth Advance Project implementation research.

Quantifiable outcome

• 383% income growth of program participants
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• UNIDOcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Signed a six-month partnership agreement with UNIDO to roll out community engagement activities creating awareness around Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programs in various communities including BDOTC-S.K.D Sports Complex Community, William V.S. Tubman High School, and MVTC-Jacobs Town New Hope Community, as part of the Youth Rising Project.
• Education Development CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for livelihood accelerator model implementation with rural women in Gbarpolu and young people in Montserrado and Lofa Counties, funded by USAID and Trust Africa.
• DAIminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational development consultancy partner.
• Youth Rising LiberiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the BizBox Social Entrepreneurship Dialogue Series.
• Ministry of Commerce and Industry, LiberiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment ministry partner for entrepreneurship dialogue and development.
• ActionAid LiberiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner NGO for the BizBox Social Entrepreneurship Dialogue Series.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• TechnoServe: Large international NGO working on entrepreneurship and enterprise development across Africa, Latin America, and Asia. Comparable to YOCEL in targeting entrepreneurial solutions to poverty but operating at much broader scale and geographic footprint.
• BRAC: Large international development organization running microfinance, education, and youth empowerment programs in Africa and Asia. Comparable to YOCEL in targeting economic empowerment of women and youth in low-income contexts.
• Ashoka: Global network supporting social entrepreneurs, with strong presence in Africa. Comparable to YOCEL in nurturing social entrepreneurship but operating globally with a much larger fellowship and funding footprint.

Direct peers

• Restless Development: Youth-led development agency running leadership and entrepreneurship programs across Africa and Asia. Comparable to YOCEL in targeting youth empowerment and entrepreneurship as pathways to economic participation.
• Educate!: Youth-focused skills and entrepreneurship organization operating across East Africa, providing training, mentorship, and job placement for young people. Closely comparable to YOCEL in targeting youth entrepreneurship outcomes in sub-Saharan Africa.
• Tony Elumelu Foundation: Pan-African entrepreneurship accelerator providing training, mentorship, and seed capital to African entrepreneurs. Directly comparable to YOCEL as both run integrated accelerator programs targeting African entrepreneurs across training-to-funding stages.
• Yunus Social Business: Global social business accelerator supporting social entrepreneurs in developing countries through incubation and funding. Directly comparable to YOCEL's social enterprise accelerator model, though operating at broader geographic scale.

Emerging players

• iDE: International NGO focused on rural livelihoods and economic empowerment through enterprise development in low-income markets. Comparable to YOCEL in targeting rural economic empowerment, particularly through market-based approaches.
• African Leadership Academy: Pan-African institution developing next-generation African leaders and entrepreneurs through secondary, tertiary, and program pathways. Comparable to YOCEL in cultivating entrepreneurship skills among African youth, though focused on a higher-education tier.
• Digital Opportunity Trust: International NGO training young people as leaders of community development, including entrepreneurship and livelihoods programming across Africa and the Middle East. Comparable to YOCEL in targeting youth-led economic empowerment in emerging markets.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/yocel4yocel
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/yocel4yocel
• Instagraminstagram.com/yocel4yocel

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about YOCEL