Young people increasingly prioritise pursuing careers with positive social and environmental impacts. Social enterprises can help them fulfil this ambition. Youth-led social enterprises can address pressing social and environmental issues while providing young people with opportunities in the labour market. Despite these benefits, these entities often struggle due to the age of their founders and the specificities of their businesses. This paper analyses the drivers and potential benefits of youth-led social enterprises (section 1), assesses the challenges they face (section 2) and provides policy guidance to address them through tailored support programmes based on best practice examples and experiences from OECD countries and beyond (section 3).