My Journey as a Young Founder of a CIC

Written by: Clifford Yeboah

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Clifford, a young professional, a gap-year student and also the founder and executive director of OPPORTUNE. Why did I start OPPORTUNE NETWORK CIC (Community Interest Company or otherwise known as a social enterprise) you may ask? It is because I know what it felt like to lack opportunities early on. During my time in school, I had some support, but it was limited. I often felt unsure about my future, what I wanted to do and didn’t always have access to the experiences or role models that could help me move forward. I realised many young people were in the same position as me, not short of talent, just short of access.

1. The Start of OPPORTUNE

In May 2025, I co-founded OPPORTUNE. Our aim is simple to support young people aged 15–25 with employability skills, confidence, and insight into careers. With that, we've created programmes to support young people such as, Future Ready and Pathway Project which cover:

• Key Employability Skills such as, building your CV or Interview Skills

• Insights into improving soft skills such as, your communication

• Real-world insights from the world of work

Most importantly, a key factor of what we do at OPPORTUNE is to  connect young people directly with employers, universities, and professionals so they can learn from real experience equipping them with lessons at the very start of their own journey.

2. My Challenges As A Founder

The journey hasn’t been easy at all running a CIC where I've had to face numerous challenges:

• Investing my own time and money, even when resources are tight.

• Sponsorships and partnerships were hard to secure

• Rejection became a normal part of the process.

I could have stopped there and then with all these challenges I was facing. However, I’ve learned to stay focused on the mission rather than the obstacles. The obstacles and challenges are a part of the journey and most important thing was that I didn't lose sight of my mission. My mission to ensure young people were no longer in the same position I was in. They have the access, resources and support to move forward in their career journeys!

3. What's Next For OPPORTUNE?

What's next? Well, after months of planning and building partnerships, OPPORTUNE is officially starting our in-person activities from October 2025! This feels like the beginning of something bigger, a chance to bring young people together face-to-face, create real connections, and start delivering the impact we’ve been working towards since Day 1.

Every idea, every plan, and every small step is part of a bigger picture: helping young people believe in themselves and prepare for the future. We are still growing, but I’m proud of what OPPORTUNE has started. My goal is to keep building spaces where young people can gain skills, confidence, and opportunities they might not get elsewhere. This journey hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been worth it and it’s only just beginning!

That is why I was proud to see OPPORTUNE's first in-person event come to plan with our Roots Race: Engineering Real Futures session at Aston University collaborating with a university and hosting a guest speaker from Rolls Royce!

OPPORTUNE's first in-person event at Aston University with myself in the centre

If there is one lesson I’ve learned so far in my journey is that success isn’t about quick wins, it’s about impact!

If you have any further questions, feel free to reach out to me on LinkedIn below

Clifford Yeboah