Setting the Stage: How AI Can Empower “High-Flyer” Entrepreneurs to Soar

You're passionate about helping empower small business owners, and know data and AI could be useful tools in unlocking real growth for these young entrepreneurs. And you’re not alone. Right now, Enterprise Support Organizations (ESOs) across the globe are realizing that traditional methods—simple completion counts, anecdotal feedback, or static, one-size-fits-all training—just don’t cut it anymore. Business support is one of the most difficult and complex arenas for impact work, and entrepreneurs need support that fits this complex and dynamic environment. That’s where the Youth Business International (YBI) High-Flyer Program comes in, and where advanced, data-driven AI tools can make all the difference. We're dedicated to building a solution that creates real impact in each area for entrepreneurs of all shapes and sizes around the world.

Why Focus on High-Flyers?

YBI’s High-Flyer Program targets young entrepreneurs (ages 18–35) who have serious growth potential, validated business models, and real traction in high-demand sectors.

By helping these “High-Flyers” access the right resources, improve their skills, secure financing, and refine their strategies, we can do more than just teach them new terms or offer generic advice.

We can help them thrive, create jobs, and influence entire communities. But to achieve this, ESOs need more than good intentions and surveys—they need actionable insights informed by solid, ongoing financial data. And that’s been a challenge.

Business Support is Difficult

If you’ve worked with small businesses in startup or scale phases, you know the uphill battle: Funders and financial service providers demand transparency and hard evidence of impact - especially when it comes to putting capital at risk for loans or equity funding. Yet ESOs often lack the tools to gather and interpret the kind of granular, firm-level financial data that truly matters. Data from the World Bank development indicators shows there has been no movement on unlocking affordable capital for Global South businesses over the previous 20 years! Lending interest rates in the Global South average 14.9%, compared to just 3.9% in the Global North. A major reason is the lack of financial transparency of these businesses operating in less structured environments compared to the Global North. Without reliable data, lenders can’t accurately assess risks, so they charge higher premiums to protect themselves. And without insight into financial performance, it’s tough to show that your programs are helping entrepreneurs succeed when applying for grant-funded opportunities.

New Possibilities with AI

Thankfully, technology has caught up.

Access to mobile devices and broadband internet have exploded over the previous years, and innovations like Large Language Models (LLMs), easier data collection from mobile devices, and improved machine translation mean it’s now possible to capture, analyze, and share detailed financial insights that were previously out of reach.

AI can collect and sift through messy, unstructured data and present clear, actionable recommendations.

Instead of clunky spreadsheets and tedious data cleaning operations, ESOs can now access near-real-time dashboards and analytics.

This isn’t just a dream; it’s happening right now, and it’s reshaping how we think about impact measurement.

What This Series Will Cover

If you're interested in reading more about new possibilities for helping the businesses you serve with dedication, you won't want to miss the details of our full series. This is our introduction of a six part discussion on the convergence of technology, AI, and each of the six YBI High-Flyer criteria:

1. Target Group Identification: Finding and selecting entrepreneurs with true growth potential.

2. Training & Knowledge Building: Delivering skills that directly impact bottom lines.

3. Access to Finance: Helping entrepreneurs secure the capital they need—at affordable rates.

4. Mentorship: Offering guided support that evolves with real-time financial feedback.

5. Ecosystem Building: Connecting entrepreneurs to networks, partners, and markets that help them scale.

6. Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL): Making sense of what’s working, what’s not, and why.

   
   

In each post, we’ll offer two things:

• A “Do-It-Yourself” Tip: How you can make simple, easy, and effective progress today with the resources and methods you already have.

• How Our Product Delivers on These Technologies: How an AI-driven solution—like what we’re building—takes the guesswork out of the process, making it more scalable, efficient, and funder-ready.

  
  

DIY vs. Purpose-Built Solutions

It can be tempting to think, “We’ve been doing okay with what we have.” And yes, manual tracking and good intentions can go a long way. But business support is incredibly complex and requires hours of data collection and preparation to prepare for a meaningful mentorship discussion. Imagine cutting the time it takes to gather data by half, or doubling the clarity of your insights without hiring expensive data analysts. That’s the power of AI in this space. As you read through the series, we’ll show exactly why a purpose-built platform designed for High-Flyer entrepreneurs can help you meet funder standards, improve your credibility, and unlock that elusive next level of support.

Join Us on This Journey

The world of entrepreneurship support is shifting fast. If you’re ready to see how to serve entrepreneurs better, and how to deliver lasting value for everyone involved—stay tuned. In our next post, we’ll dive into what is often the greatest pain point for ESOs in the High-Flyer criterion - Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning. In this post, we'll discuss how to achieve best practice standards, and the imperative of starting and ending with data-driven approaches that help improve your programs and unlock funding through demonstrable, long-term impact. Until then, think about what your current impact data really tells you—and what it might be missing.

Your entrepreneurs deserve better insights, your funders need stronger evidence, and with AI’s help, you can deliver both. Let’s build a brighter future for High-Flyer entrepreneurs together.