Espen Berg (born 6 July 1981) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

humanitarian. Espen is the

founder Founder or Founders may refer to: Places *Founders Park, a stadium in South Carolina, formerly known as Carolina Stadium * Founders Park, a waterside park in Islamorada, Florida Arts, entertainment, and media * Founders (''Star Trek''), the ali ...

and CEO of the United Youth Development Organization. Espen completed a BA (Hons) in International Business at

Bournemouth University Bournemouth University is a public university in Bournemouth, England, with its main campus situated in neighbouring Poole. The university was founded in 1992; however, the origins of its predecessor date back to the early 1900s. The univer ...

and an Msc in Development Management at the

London School of Economics The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a public university, public research university located in London, England and a constituent college of the federal University of London. Founded in 1895 by Fabian Society members Sidn ...

. Espen is quickly becoming an authority on issues such as youth in development, youth focused microfinance, and youth empowerment, and is a frequent speaker at events and conferences across the UK.

UYDO

In 2008, Espen founded the United Youth Development Organization, a charity that focuses on utilizing the skills and talents of

young people Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. You ...

globally to raise funds and capacity to invest in micro loans to disadvantaged

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

entrepreneurs Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values t ...

. In 2010 UYDO was discontinued due to funding challenges.

Espen's view on youth and microfinance

Espen argues that it is a

market failure In neoclassical economics, market failure is a situation in which the allocation of goods and services by a free market is not Pareto efficient, often leading to a net loss of economic value. Market failures can be viewed as scenarios where indi ...

that

have more difficulties in accessing microfinance services than their ‘adult’ counterparts. He argues that young people are just as capable of maintaining and successfully repaying a loan as adults. Furthermore, he argues that the development return of investing in

is very high, and that

have important characteristics and attributes that can add value to the development process. He argues that as a consequence, the development community needs to ensure that

and their needs are being included in any development programs in order to alleviate the

and thus optimize the positive impact that young people can have on

economic An economy is an area of the production, distribution and trade, as well as consumption of goods and services. In general, it is defined as a social domain that emphasize the practices, discourses, and material expressions associated with the ...

and

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

development.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berg, Espen 1981 births Living people Alumni of the London School of Economics Alumni of Bournemouth University