Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) and Facebook announced on Tuesday that they are collaborating to help small entrepreneurs in India. With an objective to increase job creation and empower entrepreneurs, the collaboration will certainly propel mass entrepreneurship across India. The goal of the partnerships is in alignment with Facebook’s commitment to train 5 million people with digital and entrepreneurial skills by 2021.
As a result of the collaboration, small entrepreneurs in India will get assistance by GAME and Facebook in building their own businesses with the help of digital platforms to aggregate demand, market products and acquire customers. The initiative is believed to promote entrepreneurship among youth allowing entrepreneurs to work in partnership, learn and succeed. They can learn better if employ multiple platforms including Facebook and Instagram.
“GAME and Facebook will kick-start their engagement with a project empowering local communities of rural entrepreneurs – using digital and physical modes, a landscape review and identification of solutions for women entrepreneurs and a grand prize challenge for innovative models that spur new business creation, “ the report added.
The Phase one of the campaign that will be rolled out this year will cover 10 states across the country including Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jammu & Kashmir, and Maharashtra among others.
The collaboration will work in accordance with the five pathways that GAME has recognized as essential for catalyzing Mass Entrepreneurship in the country.
As per the report the partnership will offer resources towards:
- Making mass entrepreneurship target-oriented
- Promoting entrepreneurial mind sets early
- Converting job seekers to entrepreneurs
- Assisting single and micro-entrepreneurs grow
- Facilitating women to start and succeed as mass entrepreneurs
“Imagine the power of a platform that can bring together communities of artisan clusters, agri-entrepreneurs or homepreneurs in the thousands to learn, collaborate and succeed- the possibilities are boundless. That potential to transform the world for small entrepreneurs is what excites us most, about our partnership with Facebook,” said Ravi Venkatesan, Founder, GAME and ex- Chairman of Microsoft India and Bank of Baroda..
Presenting views on this partnership, Ankhi Das, Public Policy Director, Facebook – India, South & Central Asia said , “We believe that when you give women and youth the skills and technology to improve their lives, we can equip them to unlock economic and social value for themselves and their communities. Our partnership with GAME seeks to create these models and implementations in priority states.”
Promoting women’s economic empowerment is a keystone for both GAME and Facebook. Women in India comprise only 23% of internet users and 6% of mass entrepreneurs at present. The collaboration plans to increase internet usage and leverage its potential to connect & empower for extensively improving women’s participation in the workforce through entrepreneurship. Initial research and pilots will target women homemakers and those who are facing mobility challenges.