Youth unemployment targeted by new initiative

A joint initiative between the Commonwealth Secretariat and the Central Bank of India is exploring innovative ways of putting young people into gainful employment through enterprise development.

Through a series of capacity-building and innovative financing mechanisms, the Youth Enterprise Finance Initiative will help harness a broad range of skills and encourage young entrepreneurs as well as those seeking employment in growing enterprises.

This will lead to what Srinivasan Sridhar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Central Bank of India, calls the ‘multiplier effect’, where young entrepreneurs set up successful businesses, which in turn leads to more job opportunities and eventually socio-economic development throughout a region.

“What is unique about this initiative is the idea of offering an end-to-end solution, which leads young individuals right through the learning process and into a position where they are not only employed, but find themselves in a long-term, sustainable position,” he said.

Four districts in the Indian states of Kerala, Orissa, Rajasthan and West Bengal have been lined-up as potential areas to kick-start this initiative on a pilot basis.

“We hope that as the initiative develops, many of the experiences and lessons learned in these regions can be used when implementing the initiative in other Commonwealth countries,” explained Mr Sridhar in an interview at Marlborough House, the Secretariat’s headquarters in London.

“West Bengal borders Bangladesh, so some of the experiences could be replicated there because of the similar socio-economic conditions. Similarly, many Caribbean countries have characteristics common to Kerala, as they are dependent on tourism, don’t have big industry and possess high literacy rates.”

This initiative, to be announced at the Commonwealth Youth Forum which starts in Trinidad and Tobago on 21 November 2009, was one of a number of projects discussed by Mr Sridhar and Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma when they met in London on 17 November.

Building competitiveness

They also spoke about the series of programmes, organised by the Secretariat in collaboration with the Central Bank of India, which help improve the competitiveness of small businesses across the Commonwealth.

These programmes, of which there have been nine since 2004, have exposed businessmen and women from 47 countries to a range of success stories by inviting renowned entrepreneurs to share their first-hand experiences as well as organising field visits to a number of successful enterprises and regions.

Mr Sridhar and Mr Sharma discussed the idea of raising awareness of green technology among small businesses, and that the next such programme – taking place in Jaipur next February – would be an ideal starting point.

“While environmental responsibility is entrenched in the consciousness of some big businesses, there is a general lack of responsibility and awareness among small companies,” Mr Sridhar said.

He also said that although these companies are small, there are many of them and so combined efforts from all of them would produce significant energy savings.

Providing technical assistance

Mr Sridhar also briefed Mr Sharma about technical assistance being provided by the Central Bank of India to build the capacity of the St Lucia Development Bank (SLDB), a new financial institution established by that country’s government. This technical assistance will assist SLDB develop appropriate lending instruments and product portfolio, appraise proposals from small businesses, and also assist with staff development.

As part of this technical assistance, which is being fully funded by the Central Bank of India, two of its senior staff members will work with SLDB for a six-week period.

Mr Sridhar also assured the Secretary-General of similar assistance in the future, including in Jamaica.

Secretariat Links:

• Economic Development
• Country Profile: India
• Country Profile: St Lucia