In its Empowerment Program YELI has launched the Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLA) program to initiate savings and loan's competences among youth (Single Mothers, Deaf People, youth Clubs)

Village Savings and Loan Associations is a type of microfinance that is managed by communities which provide communities with access to savings, credit and insurance services. Association members are self-selected and self-governed. They meet on a weekly basis to deposit their savings. After five weeks of saving, members can take credit of up to three times the value of their savings, depending on the amount of money available from the savings of all of the members. Members then repay the association within three months, with an interest rate that is set by the VSLA (typically 10% of the value of the loan). The role of YELI is to facilitate the creation of associations, train them on the methodology, and provide them ongoing support during the first nine-month cycle of savings and credit. After this period, the VSLAs become independent and have little or no need of further assistance.
Young people's participation on the development and employment prospects are essential elements in poverty reduction. Considering this, the long-term development objective of the project is to contribute to national and regional efforts for the improvement of youth economy and the promotion of youth entrepreneurship, determining young people as key actors in local development. The project aims to strengthen the capacities and the economic development of young Burundians from six communes of Bujumbura. 7488 youth organized in 312 youth groups will benefit from the project through participating in life skills, leadership and market oriented entrepreneurship trainings, and through expanding their networks and abilities to obtain funding for the development of their small enterprises. The project will improve young people's abilities to network, their employment possibilities and possibilities to sustain group activities.

The project will be implemented through the following strategies:
.Enhancing youth groups'knowledge and capacity on entrepreneurship, occupational and leadership skills and life skills;
.Improving youth groups'self-sustainability and social participation; and
.Creating a mode of operation and networking between youth groups.

The project aims to:"Support for youth leadership, cultural identity and occupational training as a tool for development .
in selected communities in Bujumbura and "Promotion of young adults'leadership, cultural identity as a tool for sustainable development in communities located in Bujumbura", which focused on the promotion of youth'leadership skills, in Bujumbura as a mean to support their Sustainable development. This project has also a component of market driven employment training. YELI will develop specific strategies in these areas.