By Nilton Clécio da Silva Patrício

FTT Coordinator, São Paulo, Brazil

The Transformative Territories Fund operates under the acronym, it is a territorial strategy designed to collaboratively strengthen the ecosystem of organizations dedicated to the productive inclusion of marginalized youth.

Developed by Juventudes Potentes, a program coordinated in São Paulo by United Way Brazil (UWB), the fund provides financial and technical support to local organizations that promote the training of peripheral youth between 15 and 29 years old. The goal is to align them with future professions and encourage continuing education.

The program offers social organizations, youth centers and public schools:

• Financial subsidy.

• Fostering new partnerships and connections.

• Knowledge exchange through research and access to experts in areas related to youth employability.

In São Paulo, there are 2.57 million young people, of which 765,000 are considered youth (those in a situation of social vulnerability). Only 6% of these young people have completed higher education or have secured formal employment. The Transformative Territories Fund addresses the critical challenge of disconnecting these young people from opportunities. These individuals face four systemic barriers that hinder their development: structural racism, school dropout rates, employment crises, and a digital divide. The program emphasizes preparing and connecting these young people to sustainable and long-lasting careers, providing them with access to decent economic opportunities aligned with versatile skills and future professions.

The program operates at the municipal level, prioritizing organizations in the eastern and southern areas of São Paulo, particularly in districts with high levels of social vulnerability, limited access and many young beneficiaries.

Program objectives:

For the Territory: Strengthen and support the development of the peripheries through well-structured local social organizations that offer initiatives focused on employability and youth entrepreneurship.

For Young People: Expand autonomy, education, knowledge and power of choice to access opportunities related to future professions, ultimately achieving stable and decent income.

The program is aimed at social organizations that work with young people, aged 15 to 29, who have development potential but face systemic inequalities and racial barriers that hinder access to formal employment and education. Since 2022, priority is given to women and young people with potential, who represent 701% of the young population of São Paulo.

The Transformative Territories Fund promotes:

Incentives for new partnerships and connections: fosters collaboration through events, meetings and training sessions, promoting shared learning and dialogue on common challenges.

Knowledge sharing: Monthly meetings on topics such as technology, professions of the future, online employment and organization of the social assistance system in the municipality, among others.

Throughout the project, each young person’s progress is tracked after the training, and all data is stored in a CRM system to monitor their journey. Active communication, both individually and in WhatsApp groups, ensures ongoing engagement with participating organizations, enabling scalability of the program and expanding educational and employment opportunities for young people in the peripheries of São Paulo.

Nilton Clécio, FTT coordinator, expressed his enthusiasm for the program's achievements in a recent statement:

 “The Transformative Territories Fund is a collective impact initiative with objectives that can only be achieved through the collaboration of various actors working for the productive inclusion of young people. We have already engaged with more than 40 organizations and have positively impacted the lives of more than 30,000 young people in the city of São Paulo. We are connecting more and more organizations with vital resources, facilitating the progression of young people both towards employment opportunities and towards greater educational advancements.”

Juventudes Potentes, the program behind FTT, operates through the Collective Impact methodology, emphasizing collective and collaborative efforts across sectors to address complex and systemic challenges. The main outcome of the program is to leave the territory (peripheral civil society organizations) encouraged and coordinated, with initiatives geared toward future professions and youth entrepreneurship.

Secondary outcomes include empowering youth to access economic opportunities independently and preparing them for future careers.

In this way, the Transformative Territories Fund achieves its impact, empowering young people with better education, more options and higher stable incomes.