Written by Shruti Anand, Specialist – Marketing & Communications at Udhyam Learning Foundation
In 2016, an article in The Guardian noted that for the next several years, India would see 1 million of her population turn 18 every month. In 2023, we became the most populous country in the world and our median age is reported to be less than 30.
India has always seen its emerging population as an asset. The future generations are after all best poised to take on the rapid advancements and challenges that the 21st century is constantly throwing up. However, the question remains whether the nation’s youth are prepared to respond emphatically to the demands of an ever-changing world.
Are We Ready?
Traditionally, India’s education system has embraced a knowledge-first approach. We know rather than do. Schools and colleges impart education without demonstrating how a child or young adult can leverage their textbook lessons in real-world scenarios.
In April 2023, the Hindu Business Line reported that by 2025, India’s education industry would touch $225 million. Yet, the same report quoted research studies that pointed out that only about 3.8% of engineers are deemed employable by the country’s booming IT sector.
This is where an entrepreneurial mindset can make a difference.
The Right Mind
At its core, an entrepreneurial mindset is defined as a set of skills that makes individuals resilient, resourceful and solution-seeking. Yes, an entrepreneurial mindset is meant to help people navigate and find success in their chosen careers. But, equally, mastering an entrepreneurial mindset is also meant to help you navigate your personal life and societal settings.
When it began its journey towards developing entrepreneurial mindsets among India’s youth, Udhyam Foundation tailored the definition of the mindset to the country’s context. It recognised the traits children and young adults will have to learn and practice to bloom into successful adults.
Udhyam identified that to unlock an entrepreneurial mindset, youth will have to pursue and try their hand at new things, they will have to nurture and grow in self-awareness, they will have to stand tall and display grit in the face of adversity, and they will have to embrace independence – in thought and action.
These four aspects, in turn, are fundamentally rooted in the principles of:
Autonomy: Where the youth are equipped to take responsibility for their choices and actions.
Real World Experience: Where they learn first-hand by tackling day-to-day challenges.
Reflection and Learning: Where they actively examine their actions and choices and learn from their successes and failures.
Fostering an entrepreneurial mindset has proven to be key in instilling 21st-century skills that make young people successful in their work. The treasure box of skills that can be accessed with the right mindset includes creativity, critical thinking, communication and collaboration. All of this together steers young people towards dynamic and rewarding careers and lives that, in turn, result in thriving communities and nations.
Pathways To Success
But how do we bring about entrepreneurial mindsets in our youth? Mohandas Pai – one of the founders of India’s leading tech giants, Infosys – has shared in interviews that it becomes difficult to employ youth because of their acute lack of training.
So why not train them young to develop an entrepreneurial mindset from an early age? This is exactly what Udhyam Foundation has sought to do. Partnering with over 10 States across India, in the past five years, Udhyam has worked with close to 3 million students across India to make these mindsets a reality. Going beyond the prescribed academic curriculums, Udhyam has designed and implemented training curriculums that have led young children and youth in schools and vocational schools, like the ITIs, to open up, interact and work towards building an entrepreneurial mindset.
Towards Real-World Actions
Training can only be deemed successful when it translates into real-world, measurable actions that show that the youth are indeed learning to be entrepreneurial. Here, at home and in school, we can guide them towards this critical mindset by getting them to take up small but impactful actions.
To measure the success of its programmes and to find out whether its initiatives have been able to create entrepreneurial mindsets, Udhyam Learning Foundation has in the recent past developed an Action Tool that looks to measure the presence of this mindset through real-world actions. The Tool – a 20-item questionnaire – details the impactful actions that we can encourage our youth to pursue. Here are a few under each of the key skills required for an entrepreneurial mindset:
Trying New Things:
- Public speaking
- Picking up new skills
- Participating in community activities
- Taking part in activities that showcase their talent
Self-Awareness:
- Asking for feedback
- Saying no to things that do not feel right
- Asking for help when they need it
- Identifying and expressing emotions that are difficult
- Making important decisions
- Changing something that is causing unhappiness
Independence:
- Travelling alone, even if locally
- Running errands
- Starting a personal project
- Doing things that bring joy even if done alone
Grit:
- Engaging with authority
- Continuing to try after failing at something
- Trying something that invokes anxiety or nervousness
- Convincing someone of something when they are opposed to it
- Asking difficult questions
These acts when introduced to young children and adults can go a long way in shaping their psyche, their belief system, and their futures. It can open up the world to them – showing them that while they will meet their set of challenges in almost everything that they do, they do have the tools to make the most of every situation that they are faced with. A holistic approach to entrepreneurship guarantees adults who even if they have not mastered technical job skills know how to shape their environment and their circumstances to aid their progress.
The Recipe To Success
After spending years training students in the entrepreneurial mindset, Udhyam acknowledges that it is no easy task. Youth will only be encouraged to proactively work towards taking up real-world actions when they are surrounded by an enabling ecosystem. For example, many students have reported that while they are eager to participate in leadership roles, they are often not given the opportunity. Similarly, girls find it difficult to assert their independence when families curb their mobility or teachers deem them unfit for certain tasks.
To bring up generations of entrepreneurially-inclined youth, everyone from the government to teachers, parents, civil society organisations, employers and individuals will have to consciously work towards building that nurturing environment. Resources will also have to be allocated to continuously evolving our current school and training programmes so that they are inclusive, respectful and incorporate feedback from the youth themselves.
It is a long road ahead but a worthwhile journey if we are to make Bharat entrepreneurial!
