Launched in 2007 and supported by the Merrill Lynch Bank of America Foundation, this three- year initiative provided disadvantaged youth, ages 16 to 29, with financial literacy training and/or the opportunity to develop their own businesses. In Colombia, for example, vulnerable youth in Bogotá received entrepreneurial training – and had access to mentoring and small loans – in order to better prepare themselves for running a business. In Brazil, the project delivered Merrill Lynch’s successful “Investing Pays Off: It’s Never Too Early to Start!” curriculum to disadvantaged young people in the states of Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo.