Together with the Project Management Coaching from Sisterhood Handicraft, STELLA  develops a social business incubator that targets urban and rural youth with mixed ethnic backgrounds to improve their access to economic opportunities through a series of workshops and coaching support. The coaching-based approach is an effective model STELLA uses to build empowerment for Lao youth. This coaching approach with 12 topics enhances the knowledge transfer to the youth from various backgrounds and knowledge levels, ensuring that youth will have necessary skills to reach for their dreams.

STELLA provided a unique, human-to-human, approach to youth who want to start up their businesses via the Social Business Incubation Program, with most of the participants saying that it was effective for them. In total, 64 participants (70% female) were equipped with the knowledge on Social Business Canvas and other business tools to start their own social businesses: 

1. 6 participants were STELLA staff who underwent training to be coaches of the Social Business Canvas Tool. (50% female, aged 18-35, social workers) 

1. 15 participants were from the first batch of the project joined the Social Business Canvas Tool Workshop. (73% female, aged 18-30, university students) 

1. 43 participants were from 2 workshops, including Start Your Own Business Workshop and Marketing Workshop. (72% female, aged 18-45, students, social workers and business owners) 

Accomplished products: 

1. Business Canvas Tools, translated into Lao, and ready to be used in the following years at STELLA.
2. Most Significant Change video produced.
3. Approached by Women’s Entrepreneurial Centre to offer collaboration.
4. Developed concept with OXFAM to apply for OXFAM’s Innovation Fund 2019.
5. Learning is incorporated into STELLA’s Strategic Plan.

The STELLA team also learned and received further opportunities during the project implementation: 

• 6 Staff from STELLA were equipped with basic coaching skills, which were essential to implement the project and can be applied to other projects and youth consultation sessions. 
• STELLA learned a lot from this project, and the learning will be used to further develop STELLA’s strategic plan to include youth business development in its strategies. 

• STELLA also learned about the challenges that Hmong youth, especially young female students, face while studying at the University of Laos in Vientiane Capital. These experiences will allow STELLA to design new project ideas that are more inclusive or new ideas that are more tailored toward specific target groups, especially female, provincial, low-income status, and ethnic youth. 
• STELLA involved itself with OXFAM’s team to apply for the OXFAM Innovation Fund, which can bring its experience of coaching to the next level, with the aim of one day being able to implement Enterprise Facilitation (connecting people to start businesses) in Laos.