Last week the Nyenrode students of the Program of Excellence (PoE) and I followed a workshop about Young Ethnic Professionals (YEPPIES) in the Netherlands. This was given by Arjan Erkel and Sezgin Yilgin who have written the book ‘Generation YEP‘.
The focus of the workshop was on how we as future managers and entrepreneurs can take advantage of the rise of the YEPPIES. There is great business potential when one understands that this generation can be a valuable target-group. Or valuable employees that can develop new products/services targeting people with a multicultural background.
An example is Celal Oruç who founded Ortel Mobile. This telecom provider makes it possible to call to countries like Poland and Marocco for low rates. A percentage of around 66% of this fast growing company has been bought by KPN for an undisclosed figure (estimated at 50 million euros by Quote Magazine).
After the presentation of Arjen & Sezgin it was time to do some thinking ourselves, so we were divided in groups of 3 students. Every group was assigned to a company and the objective was to think about a new product or service that this company could offer to YEPPIES. It was a great way to put the new way of thinking to practical use.
The workshop ‘Generation YEP’ has certainly broadened our visions. The business opportunities this generation presents will be taken into account in our future endeavors as managers/entrepreneurs. I challenge you to also see these business opportunities!
Arjan Erkel & Sezgin Yilgin
Pingback: Generation YEP | NCV