Government looks to support young entrepreneurs with new app
ASIC has launched a First Business app to support young entrepreneurs and curb youth unemployment.
Greg Medcraft, chairman of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), has announced the launch of First Business, a mobile app designed to support young Australians launching a business.
The app, which was a joint effort between ASIC and the Australian Taxation Office (ATO), provides practical tips, checklists, case studies and links to information about developing and running a small business.
"For its part, ASIC wants to support young people to be successful in business by providing access to tools and resources to build their financial capability and help them with the financial decisions they'll need to make," Medcraft said.
"'ASIC's vision is to allow markets to fund the real economy and economic growth. Small businesses play an essential role in this and account for around 45% of employment and 35% of output nationally."
First Business appSource: ASIC
The youth unemployment rate is 12.3% as of January 2017, compared to the 5.7% unemployment rate nationally. The rate has been relatively volatile over the past 12 months, reaching 13.7% in November 2016 after having previously dropped to 12% in March of that year.
A recent report by Startup Muster, which surveyed the startup landscape in Australia during 2016, found that while only 4.2% of current startup founders are between 20-25, this is expected to increase to 9.5%. Of those founders surveyed, almost one-third (28.4%) said that professional development through any medium helps to support startups.
Those looking to download the app can do so in the App Store and Google Play.
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