Entrepreneurship– this word wasn’t perhaps known to many until maybe a decade back. To be successful meant studying hard and getting a stable job that paid well. However, the coming of the internet and democratic flow of information has changed everything today.
In the 21st century, entrepreneurship skills development has become a priority for many. People don’t just want to find comfortable jobs, but they want to become job creators.
The world is waking up to the potential of entrepreneurship. India, on the other hand, is leading in start-up innovation. Tech-based start-ups in India are growing rapidly and government-backed technology like UPI is now going global. By August 2022, India was the third-largest start-up ecosystem in the world. Today, the country has more than 77,000 small and big start-ups spread across 656 districts.
More and more such start-ups are receiving billions of dollars in funding from international organisations. In 2022, 21 Indian start-ups entered the Unicorn Club which means their valuation reached $ 1 billion. All this has been made possible by a conducive environment for innovation and support from the government as well.
To boost the spirit of entrepreneurship among young Indians and to create a culture of entrepreneurship skill development programme, the government of India launched a flagship initiative in 2016.
The Startup India Initiative, which was established on January 16th, 2016, has released a number of initiatives with the goal of assisting entrepreneurs, creating a strong startup ecosystem, and changing India into a nation of job creators rather than job seekers. A specialised Startup India Team oversees these initiatives and answers to the Department for Industrial Policy and Promotion (DPIIT).
Let’s Talk About Entrepreneurial Skills Development
When we talk about entrepreneurship, the first question that comes to mind is how to develop entrepreneurial skills? Our education has, so far, been focused on acquiring job skills. The livelihood skill development programme has also followed a basic approach so far.
However, in this rapidly transforming world, the need is to equip the people with the right skills. Once they have the necessary skills and confidence, they can create innovative organisations. In order to achieve this, entrepreneurship is now being taught at various levels.
One of the initiatives taken in this direction is by the Delhi Government. Under its ‘Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum’, they launched ‘Business Blasters’ programme. Rs 2000 was given to students of class 11 and 12 to develop ideas for entrepreneurship.
After thorough evaluation, 1000 of these ideas were selected for the programme.
This was a first-of-its-kind initiative where government schools’ students got a chance to directly pitch their ideas to investors and receive funding. The Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University has also been launched with the aim of creating innovators of tomorrow.
Teaching Entrepreneurship in Schools
As we can see from above examples, many initiatives are already being taken to integrate entrepreneurship learning in school and college education. Both private and government institutes are waking up to the importance of developing technical skills for entrepreneurs.
Whether it is starting a small venture or a global start-up, the entrepreneurs need to have the right skills to scale their organisation. This can only be achieved if the students are taught at an early stage to think creatively and take risks. This is why we need to begin from the school level.
Learning about entrepreneurship involves completely changing one’s mindset, altering one’s intellectual perspective, and taking conventional steps to enlighten children. Clearly, entrepreneurial education has a crucial role in influencing perspectives, skills, and traditions.
The goals of entrepreneurship education are so important that it is essential to support a rigorous framework in education and knowledge of the subject, then to offer confidence and steady modernisation to enable more students to benefit from entrepreneurship education.
According to the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, more than 11% of Indians between the ages of 18 and 64 aspire to launch a business over the next three years. This means that a 10th of working adults is willing to take up entrepreneurship as a career option. For India, a comparatively young country, this can be a major opportunity of growth. If this potential is utilized to its maximum, it can make India a leader in entrepreneurship innovation.
So, What Can We Do About It?
Each student can be taught the fundamentals of entrepreneurship, igniting their interest in the topic. Students can benefit from entrepreneurs’ experiences and learning exposure by interviewing them and engaging in their businesses, for example, which will expose them to real-world experience and motivate them to study business.
In countries like Japan and the United States, entrepreneurship is taught at an early level in schools. It is promoted culturally, and innovation is supported in various ways. India is on the same path. More and more people are looking up to new age entrepreneurs as their heroes today.
Students from all socioeconomic levels benefit from entrepreneurship education because it encourages unique thinking and the development of their abilities and skills. A lifetime learning process, entrepreneurship education begins in elementary school and continues through all stages of education, including adult education. The creation of opportunities, upholding of social justice, fostering of confidence, and stimulation of the economy all result from this.
With shows like Shark Tank coming to India, the idea of entrepreneurship has now reached every household. The iron is hot, and the hammer is ready!
What’s needed is that the available opportunity is leveraged. This can only be achieved if we begin from the beginning and introduce entrepreneurship to the students at school level.
Smile Foundation and Entrepreneurship at Schools
Smile Foundation through its Mission Education programme is trying to develop the knowledge base of students from lower-income families in every aspect including the entrepreneurship skills development.
STeP or the Smile Twin e-Learning Programme is another initiative of the Smile Foundation focused on skill development of the Indian youth from the disadvantaged sections of the society. Learn more here and become a part of the change today!
