This is part 2 of a 3-part series. Read part 1 here.
Youth Population Bulge
Over 10 million youth enter the job market each year. In order to reap the demographic dividend, India would have to more than double the rate of job creation. Otherwise, India would have lost a one-time opportunity to become a prosperous nation and would have failed to help this large influx of youth looking to fulfill their dreams in the new India.
I Create in Partnership with NFTE is providing a very practical and innovative entrepreneurship program in 15 regions of India with the number increasing rapidly. The principal purpose of this program is to provide the youth skills and motivation to consider entrepreneurship as a career option.
In a recent major conference on skills development in India, Dr. Kalam, former President of India, lauded I Create's program publicly and quoted the example of one of I Create entrepreneurs, Abdus Samad, a very poor young man from a village in India, who, after I Create training, submitted his business plan to the local bank. He availed the loan of $20,000 and started a seed farm business 6 years back. At present his business volume is $ 10 Million and 200 families directly or indirectly earn their livelihoods from his enterprise.
"Entrepreneurship incubation institutions (such as I Create) need to be developed all over India and the developing world," added Dr. Kalam. (In a way, NFTE is engaged in the same purpose.)
I Create's program reaches out to the schools and colleges from the poorer sections of the community. In fact, it has now extended its program to the handicapped, who are greatly benefitting from it once given a chance. One of the hearing-challenged young men, Montu Shah, actually delivered his business plan in
sign language and won the third prize in I Create's National level Business Plan competition.
Montu Shah presenting business plan in sign language.
This is part 2 of a 3-part series. Read part 3 here.