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EMN DIMAPUR, AUGUST 9
[dropcap]Y[/dropcap]outhnet has launched an entrepreneurial initiative in the form of a skill and employment development centre in collaboration with the government of Nagaland. Youthnet has “partnered” with the government of Nagaland to establish the ‘Youthnet Centre of Entrepreneurship and Employment’ which aims to establish entrepreneurship and enhance employability skills amongst youth in Nagaland. The “chief mentor” for the center is Dr. Krishna Tanuku, executive director of the Wadhwani Center for Entrepreneurship Development, Indian School of Business. The non-governmental organization explained that the ‘measure of occupational success’ in Nagaland has been gauged by employment in the government. “However, the reality remains that government jobs are highly limited. If one looks at it in economic terms, there is simply not enough supply to meet the demand. The time is (ripe) for Naga youth to look to other avenues to earn an income and sustain themselves,” Youthnet said in a press release received here today. One of the best solutions to the problem is “entrepreneurship”, which the Ngo said “not only ensures employment and a source of income for the entrepreneur, but also offers benefits to other members of society along the way, be it through the goods an entrepreneur sells or the services he or she offers.” The first program of the Youthnet Centre of Entrepreneurship and Employment titled 'The Entrepreneur' will be launched on August 28. The program has been designed to target twenty young emerging entrepreneurs who would be taught various business and entrepreneurial skills to help develop their businesses, the NGO said. The twenty participants will participate in a six-weeks course taught by some of the country's most successful entrepreneurs and professional experts in the business field, where they will learn skills such as employee management, operations management, technology and business, marketing and basic finance and accounting among others. The courses taught to the twenty participants will be designed according to the local business environment, and will be based on what will be applicable to the participants' businesses. “They will be taught via a combination of class-room lectures, case study discussions and individual project development. The course will be delivered in such a way as to ensure the participants are given a chance to learn in environments outside their businesses, including peer learning and they will also be provided with opportunities to apply what they learn in the course through testing of ideas,” Youthnet said. Teaching the twenty participants will be “connoisseurs” in the business field, the organization informed. The faculty is Dr Rahul Mirchandani (executive director of Aries Argos Limited and a recipient of the Bharat Ratna Rajiv Gandhi Yuva Shakti Award) Dr. Navita Mahajan (founder member of Leadership Assembly of Commonwealth Asia Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs), Rohan K Abraham (President of Pledgeback Advisory Services which works with grass roots organisations to improve people's lives) and Hemant Nitturkar(Project Development Officer, India for AVRDC- the World Vegetable Center, Taiwan). The twenty entrepreneurs will also participate in a competition where they will be made to develop a "business growth plan" throughout the duration of the module. This plan will implement the skills they are taught in the course, and will be targeted towards expanding their businesses, enabling them to apply what they learn directly into their business processes. At the end of the six weeks program, the NGO explained, all twenty plans will be assessed and the best plan will be awarded five lakh rupees to be put into their business. The idea of 'The Entrepreneur' is inspired by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Entrepreneur and Member of Parliament who is also the program’s chief mentor and who has also funded the award money, the organization said. “By launching initiatives that seek to promote entrepreneurship, YouthNet will not only help impart skills that will teach people to sustain their lives better, but also teach Naga youth to try and explore newer avenues to earn a living,” the NGO said. More information can be had from www.impact5000by18.com or by calling the contact number +91 8575606831. Information shall also be availed from Youthnet’s office near Kohima College, Billy Graham Road in Kohima town.