• Persistent youth unemployment and inequality threaten sustained economic productivity in ASEAN Member States (AMS). Fostering the development of youth as startup entrepreneurs is a viable way to improve their productivity and labour force participation. Startups are a source of new products and services to fuel economic growth and, when successful, employment.
• The current ASEAN Guidelines on Fostering a Vibrant Ecosystem for Startups were developed for general entrepreneurs of all ages and did not specifically target youth or their entrepreneurial development.
• Excellent case studies in AMS offer inspiration for the potential creation of ASEAN-wide policies to foster business development support programmes aimed specifically at youth.
• This brief discusses two case studies: youth-oriented incubation programmes at Indonesian universities, and the enabling role played by the Government of Singapore to attract investors and startups. Policy directions are derived from two different contexts: Indonesia, where the youth unemployment rate is among the highest in ASEAN, and Singapore, which uses best practices in building startup ecosystems.
• AMS and ASEAN should consider adapting lessons from these and other cases into holistic policy approaches.
• Given that ASEAN’s youth population will remain sizeable until 2050, supporting youth entrepreneurship offers AMS an excellent opportunity to ensure their economies are more forward looking, inclusive, and sustainable.

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