India

India has the largest youth population in the world (over 300 million) and a significant youth unemployment problem among both educated and unskilled youth. 18% of youth (15-29 years) are unemployed and not studying, and an additional 35% are trapped in a cycle of poorly-paid piece work.

Working with the Bharti Foundation in 2018 we gave poor young people in 103 low-resource rural schools in five states the opportunity to build practical business, entrepreneurship, experience and transferable life skills through planning and/or managing a fully-functioning business in school.

We also translated our step-by-step resources into Hindi to enable more young people in more schools across India to gain new skills and experience in a School Business.

Students at Vidyadhiraja High School, India set up a business making and selling incense sticks as as part of the School Enterprise Challenge.

Enterprising students in India

To generate start-up capital for their incense stick business, students at Vidyadhiraja High School sold pens they made out of waste materials. Students were then able to buy all the necessary equipment and materials for their business. They have a team of around 40 students who are divided in manufacturing, sales and marketing units, and they are also responsible for keeping updated accounts.

The business has already generated over USD $400 in profits, which they are going to use to buy a manufacturing machine to expand their business even further. The students want to help their community, so they are going to train local underprivileged women in using the machine and enable them to make and sell incense sticks.

Enterprising students in India

Students at the Satya Bharti Ardarsh Secondary School Fattubhilla, in the Amritsar district of Punjab, set up a business manufacturing and selling pickles and marmalade. The student team raised start-up capital by selling newspapers and craft items made from waste material, using the income to buy ingredients they needed. In one month of trading, sales of their pickles and marmalades generated a net profit of US$15.

In 2017, they redeveloped their business to make and sell indigenous snacks and increased their net profit by 46%!

“When the students sold their product they felt satisfied as they have earned money and gained identity as young entrepreneurs… They built optimistic attitudes; they developed confidence and courage to aim high.”

After participating in the School Enterprise Challenge, 97% of teachers said they agreed or strongly agreed that students looked more confident when expressing their ideas.

"When you close the first sale, party it up for a while and then get right back into it. This is the best time to ride the momentum wave as high as you possibly can!" student Bhavika Harchandani, Good Shepherd International School, India