𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐮𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨 𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐉𝐨𝐛𝐬

… 𝑨𝑫𝑩 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒄𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒂𝒍 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒆𝒐𝒑𝒍𝒆 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒎𝒐𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍
𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔

By Kezang Choden

According to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) report Youth Entrepreneurship in Bhutan
Building Pathways to Job Creation 2026, Bhutan’s youth continue to face persistent labour
market challenges, including high rates of those not in employment, education or training,
difficult transitions from school to work, and low job quality despite rising levels of education.
While entrepreneurship is often promoted as an alternative to wage employment, the report notes
that it remains underutilised among young people and has yet to deliver sustained employment
outcomes at scale.

The report observes that most young entrepreneurs in Bhutan tend to enter business later in their
careers, and many struggle to move beyond the early stages of enterprise development. The ADB
emphasises that policy efforts have focused heavily on start up creation rather than long term
business growth. It stresses that supporting young entrepreneurs to shift from necessity driven
ventures to opportunity based businesses could improve productivity, resilience and job creation.

These challenges are unfolding at a time when Bhutan’s labour market is undergoing significant
structural changes following its graduation from least developed country status in 2023. As noted
by the National Statistics Bureau in 2024, more jobs are being created in urban areas and in
service sectors such as education, hospitality and trade, while employment in agriculture
continues to decline. Although this reflects economic transformation, the report highlights that
the transition has been particularly difficult for young people entering the workforce.

Youth, defined as those aged 15 to 24, have one of the lowest employment rates in South Asia.
The number of young people classified as not in employment, education or training has increased
in recent years, even as comparable countries in the region have recorded improvements.
According to the report, this trend is not driven by an oversupply of labour, but by the absence of
structured and gender inclusive pathways from education to employment, particularly outside the
public sector.

Despite higher educational attainment and strong aspirations for stable and meaningful work,
many young people experience inactivity, underemployment and poor job quality. In this
context, entrepreneurship is often positioned as a solution to absorb excess youth labour and
reduce reliance on public sector employment. However, youth entrepreneurship in Bhutan
remains limited in scale and uneven in outcomes.

The report finds that most young entrepreneurs, especially those aged 15 to 24, engage in
business out of necessity rather than opportunity. Few are able to progress to business maturity
or expansion. While young women show strong potential returns from entrepreneurship when
provided with appropriate support, structural barriers continue to constrain participation and
sustainability. These include limited access to finance, weak business skills, lack of professional
networks and inadequate care infrastructure, challenges that disproportionately affect women.
Ezang, a young entrepreneur from Thimphu, is among those navigating these constraints as she
builds her online business, Wego Fashion Store. Inspired by her parents, who have been involved
in business for nearly three decades, she decided to pursue entrepreneurship after completing her
graduation, uncertain about her career prospects.

In the early stages, Ezang struggled to attract customers and had limited knowledge of importing
products. Securing financial support was another major hurdle, as accessing loans from banks
proved difficult. During this period, her parents provided both financial backing and guidance.
Launched in 2019, Wego Fashion Store has since operated in a highly competitive market,
requiring constant adaptation.

“Instead of focusing on walk in customers, it is better to focus more on social media like TikTok
for marketing,” she said, highlighting how digital platforms have become critical tools for young
entrepreneurs with limited resources.

Ezang believes that commitment and persistence are essential for sustaining a business in the
long run. According to her, with full determination and consistent effort, young entrepreneurs
can build enterprises that endure, even in competitive markets. Her experience reflects both the
opportunities created by digital tools and the broader challenges faced by youth attempting to
establish sustainable livelihoods through entrepreneurship.

For many young people, particularly in rural areas, entrepreneurship remains closely tied to
agriculture. However, structural constraints continue to undermine youth participation. An
Agriculture Extension Officer from Metakha Gewog in Chukha Dzongkhag said poor road
conditions are a major reason why many young people are losing interest in farming.

According to the officer, youths were earlier engaged in farming through cost sharing
arrangements, and crop yields were often encouraging. However, transporting produce to the
market has remained a serious challenge. Damaged and unreliable roads, especially during the
monsoon season, make it difficult to deliver produce in fresh condition, leading to losses and
reduced income.

Without reliable road access and market links, the officer explained, even good harvests fail to
translate into economic benefits. While the extension office continues to support young farmers
through training, technical guidance and access to available facilities, he stressed that improved
infrastructure is essential to restoring youth confidence in farming and sustaining agricultural
activity in the gewog.

Data in the report further show that while youth are increasingly visible among aspiring and
early stage entrepreneurs, only a small proportion manage to build businesses that reach
maturity. People aged 25 to 34 account for more than one third of potential, nascent and new
business owners, but represent less than a quarter of established business owners. Youths aged
15 to 24 form the largest group of potential entrepreneurs, yet their participation declines sharply
as businesses progress.

The report attributes this drop off to persistent barriers such as limited experience, lack of access
to finance and weak mentoring and professional networks, which prevent many young people
from turning ideas into long term enterprises.

Pemba Lhamo, a 32 year old from Tsangkha Gewog in Dagana Dzongkhag, represents an
example of how targeted support can enable youth led agricultural entrepreneurship. She began
winter strawberry farming in 2023 after completing a two week intensive training program at the
Bajo Agriculture Research and Development Center, where she learned improved techniques in
soil preparation, irrigation management and pest control.

She later participated in a two month advanced training program in Europe sponsored by Bhutan
Network, which exposed her to modern farming landscapes and global best practices. Today,
Lhamo earns around Nu 1.5 lakh annually from her greenhouse based strawberry farming.
Beyond household income, her enterprise contributes to the local economy by promoting high
value crop production and demonstrating the viability of winter farming.

Despite her current success, Lhamo plans to install additional greenhouses to scale up production
and meet growing demand. Her experience highlights the role of practical training, exposure to
advanced practices and institutional support in enabling youth entrepreneurship to move beyond
subsistence and towards sustainable growth.

Together, the findings and experiences outlined in the report underline that while
entrepreneurship holds potential as a pathway for youth employment in Bhutan, its impact will
remain limited without stronger focus on business growth, infrastructure development and
inclusive transition pathways from education to work.