Aim at accelerating social entrepreneurship and innovation in young India

Nov 6, 2019

AIM, NITI Aayog and UNDP India jointly launched Youth Co: Lab

In a latest initiative to recognize young people as critical drivers of sustainable development, Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India launched Youth Co:Lab which aims at accelerating social entrepreneurship and innovation in young India. Youth Co:Lab is Co-created in 2017 by UNDP and Citi Foundation, and is operational in 25 countries across the Asia Pacific region is an initiative which aims to create and enable an ecosystem to promote youth leadership, innovation, and social entrepreneurship.

The initiative aims at spreading awareness about different issues pertaining to youth, the future of work and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) through Youth Co:Lab. An invitation for Young entrepreneurs (18-29 years) and start-ups to showcase their proposed ideas and solutions to tackle some of the region’s biggest social challenges which will summon social innovation challenges at the national and sub-national level.  The Young Entrepreneurs and innovators will get a chance to connect with governments, mentors, incubators and investors, who will help equip them with entrepreneurial skills.

The first phase of Youth Co:Lab will focus on six SDGs: SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), SDG 12 (Sustainable Consumption and Production) and SDG 13 (Climate Action). This Initiative will help empower young people through innovative development ideas.

Aspiring entrepreneurs or nascent entrepreneurs (with less than 3 years of experience) can submit their ideas at http://aimapp2.aim.gov.in/youth2019/entry.php before 4 November, 2019. Selected applicants will be invited for a national innovation challenge, where each winning start-up will get an opportunity to incubate and strengthen their ideas at the Atal Incubation Centres.

Author: Preeti Rajput, Research Associate at PHDCCI, Dr S P Sharma, Chief Economist at PHDCCI and Ms Surbhi Sharma, Associate Economist at PHDCCI