Last month, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister Manish Sisodia announced seed money of Rs 2,000 to 3,50,000 students across 1,000 government schools in the Union Territory under the Seed Money Project.
Entrepreneurial mindset
Often students passing out of school are left wondering what they should be doing to earn money. To help build an entrepreneurial outlook among children, the Delhi government launched the Entrepreneurship Mindset Curriculum (EMC) for Classes IX to XII two years ago.
The EMC aims at empowering students to harness their talents and realise their dreams so that they will become job creators rather than job seekers. It is noteworthy that one of the components of the EMC is the Seed Money Project for students of Classes XI and XII.
What is seed money?
Seed money is money given to someone to help them start a new business or project. The Seed Money Project is an initiative to develop the business skills of senior students. It seeks to kickstart the journey of students towards making them young entrepreneurs.
The Seed Money Project was started as a pilot project at a school in Khichripur earlier this year, and Rs 1,000 each was given as seed money to the children so that they could start their own business. Under the project, 41 children of the school formed nine groups with each group starting a business venture using the grant. Their innovative business ventures varied from repairing non-functional mobile phones, selling paintings and artwork to making compost, home decor, and chocolates. All of them are said to have made profits.
The seed money has now been increased from Rs. 1,000 to Rs. 2,000 and the Delhi Government plans to implement the seed money project at all government schools across Delhi.
Recently, the Delhi government also launched the Business Blasters’ programme for students of Classes XI and XII as part of the seed money project. Under this programme, children will be trained in entrepreneurship. Competitions will be held at the district and State levels. The best projects will be displayed at a carnival next year to which investors will be invited.
Besides, as part of the EMC, Live Entrepreneurship Interactions are held wherein entrepreneurs from diverse sectors are invited to interact with Delhi government school students and share tips on entrepreneurship with them. It’s hoped that the initiative of grooming future entrepreneurs will help address the problem of unemployment.
Picture Credit : Google
