our history

Wandsworth Youth Enterprise Centre (WYEC) was established in Tooting in 1988, in an area of high unemployment with a high minority ethnic population, to give young people an opportunity to set up and run their own businesses. The original Trustees all worked with young people in some way and were the driving force behind the charitable values of the Centre.

The Trustees and staff at the time developed an integrated business incubation programme specifically designed to help young people aged 17 – 30 start up and run a successful enterprise. Since inception, the Centre has supported over 5,500 young people and helped hundreds successfully set up and develop their own businesses. WYEC provides 25 incubator units and supports young people through a mix of business training and counselling.

WYEC’s initial establishment was supported by Wandsworth Borough Council, but for the last ten years, it has received no statutory grant income. The Council helped the organisation develop an idea about building on its core skills, and a successful commercially managed workspace, Trident Business Centre, was set up in 1998 to provide income for the charity and as a natural progression path for some of the burgeoning young businesses moving on from WYEC.

Set up with a substantial investment from English Partnerships, and a large commercial mortgage, Trident has brought over 300 jobs into the Tooting Ward and has had a major economic impact on the local area around Tooting Broadway.

WYEC’s model of a totally integrated youth enterprise incubation programme has been of considerable interest to the UK government, the European Commission and a range of organisations in various regions of the UK and mainland Europe.