A nation is on a growth trajectory when there are more people providing employment than those seeking one. India, in the last few years, has reached new heights when it comes to entrepreneurship and India’s youth are contributing in a big way to push the entrepreneurship bandwagon.
The Ministry for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship is working towards harnessing the power of the country’s youth by skilling and empowering them in a manner such that they become self-reliant and, additionally, create jobs for the others.
Statistics reveal that 54 per cent of India’s population is below the age of 35 years and, of these, about 15 million people (youth) enter the country’s workforce every year. The numbers are astronomical and the challenge to provide employment to every eligible candidate is a big one.
For the progress of a nation, it’s important that the youth get employment and there are enough opportunities for the skilled and the unskilled young to make a living.
The only way to create enough jobs for such a huge population, that too consistently and continuously, is by creating an environment for entrepreneurship and innovation.
Innovation holds the key
Young minds in India are highly creative and innovative and with a little push can do wonders when it comes to entrepreneurship. There are several initiatives taken by the government and the industry to promote innovation and, in turn, entrepreneurship.
It’s no secret that India has become a desired destination for potential entrepreneurs and is fast becoming an emerging market for investors from across the world looking to invest in creative businesses and smart and profitable entrepreneurial ventures. These new trends are positive indicators for commerce and the economy in India.
Several initiatives in the last few years such as Digital India, Make In India, Start-Up India, Atal Innovation Mission, etc. have successfully created a nurturing environment for India’s youth to indulge in entrepreneurship. These initiatives are encouraging the young to think beyond the regular programmes and fields and giving them the impetus to start something of their own.
Growing start-ups
The start-up initiatives in India are looking at a bright and stable future. India is providing all the right ingredients to its youth so they push themselves in creating businesses that, in turn, will create jobs for many more.
There are programmes that support potential and new entrepreneurs and help them in the areas of fetching and securing funding, enable ease of doing business, offer tax benefits, create new incubators and facilitate capacity building of the existing incubators.
A conducive entrepreneurial environment and a stable ecosystem are important to encourage more and more young Indians to dabble in entrepreneurship. Today, there are more and more advanced innovation-based entrepreneurial initiatives in the market along with technologically-advanced entrepreneurship.
A proper ecosystem for these is also needed as these are large-scale entrepreneurial initiatives that need more care in the initial stages but the returns are much higher later and sustainable.
Large-scale entrepreneurship
The government of India’s Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has been promoting large-scale entrepreneurship that includes innovation-based and high technology entrepreneurial ventures.
A functional and stable ecosystem for large-scale entrepreneurship has developed over time to provide support to young Indians looking to start their unique ventures. The Common Norms for Skill Development 2015 recognises self-employment at par with placement as outcome benchmark of skill trainings.
Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras have been converted to Entrepreneurship Hubs to facilitate entrepreneurship by providing interested trainees mentoring and handholding support. The Ministry is collaborating with the Department of Financial Services, SIDBI, Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) and civil society organisations like DeAsra to educate young Indians on start-ups and mentorship.
The Ministry has instituted National Entrepreneurship Awards to recognise and honour outstanding young first-generation entrepreneurs and organizations/individuals committed for entrepreneurship development.
The Ministry of Science and Technology’s Department of Biotechnology’s annual flagship programme ABLE encourages the budding entrepreneurship talents of college students. It creates human resources by nurturing and supporting innovation and entrepreneurship among young researchers.
India’s young entrepreneurs
In a big country as India, with the second largest population, there are many young Indian entrepreneurs that are making a mark. It’s no surprise that the start-up culture in India is growing stronger with each passing day and young entrepreneurs are making a difference with their unique ventures.
Their struggles and stories inspire many not just in India but across the world as their entrepreneurial ventures make a difference in the lives of thousands.
Young Indian Entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of OYO Rooms – India’s largest hotel room aggregator, Ritesh Agarwal started the company in 2013 when he was just 19 years old. He started OYO Rooms after struggling to find a hotel room in India that was comfortable and cost-effective at the same time.
By September 2018, Ritesh’s company had raised one billion dollars and, by July 2019, it was reported that Agarwal purchased two billion dollars in shares in the company. He is the youngest self-made billionaire in the world. He is also listed in the Forbes 30-under-30 list for Asia.
Another start-up called Porter – a logistics start-up that helps businesses with last-mile delivery – was founded by 19-year-old Pranav Goel. Today, it is one of the leading logistics start-ups in India with a team of over 500 people. It has raised over 100 million dollars in funding from investors such as Sequoia Capital and Tiger Global.
Lenskart founder Peyush Bansal was very young when he started the online shopping portal for eyewear in 2010. Since then, the company has been providing quality eyewear at affordable prices to customers in India very successfully. He is presently one of the most successful young entrepreneurs in India and has been featured in Forbes 30-Under-30 list.
Women entrepreneurs
In India, 58 per cent of female entrepreneurs were in the age range of 20-30 when they started their enterprises. And, nearly 73 per cent of them report revenue of approximately Rs 10 lakhs in a financial year. Among these, about 57 per cent women entrepreneurs started out individually and independently, with no other support and 35 per cent had a co-founder. About 71 per cent of Indian female entrepreneurs employ five people or less.
A social-cause entrepreneur and the co-founder of Menstrupedia, Aditi Gupta is considered to be one of the most successful women entrepreneurs of India. Menstrupedia works on spreading awareness about menstruation that Aditi started with husband Tuhin Paul.
Sreelakshmi Suresh is the youngest woman entrepreneur in India. In 2020, at the age of 21, she became the youngest web designer-cum-CEO in the world. She designed and developed the official website of her school located in Kozhikode (Kerala) when she was only eight years old.
Not just this, Sreelakshmi was only ten years old when she designed and established eDesign – a web designing company that offers SEO, design and other related services. She has developed over 100 websites for many entities across India.