.

Continued

Recntly, I was watching a fascinated talk on TED.com about a Somali who recounted his experiences while living in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. Somalia, a famine and war-torn country, has been devastated with unemployment and an alarming rate of terrorism. Specifically, the talk was centred on the link between unemployment and terrorism. But what was hidden behind the speaker's talk was that, in spite of l iving in such dire circumstances, there were a select few individuals who, despite being unemployed but full of youthful energy, channelled their energy towards innovation. They looked around and did not like what they saw; but as is always the case: "Challenges bring about opportunities." These select few decided to enter headstrong into entrepreneurship, realising that their city was in need for such simple things that we, as Indians, take for granted: things such as scarves, bicycles, pencils, and even trivial things as flowers. And that, in its very essence, is the power of entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is what creates jobs. It is what satisfies demands and creates the magical equation of 'supply = demand'; and not only fills voids in societies, but changes the entire life course of the individual embarking upon the risk-taking path. Instead of being mired by unemployment or by taking up an unsatisfactory job, the entrepreneur boldly takes the risk of meeting a need his society needs. There is a demand that is yet to be met; he is there to provide the supply. Fortunately, India is a country with a relatively low rate of unemployment. Unlike countries like Somalia, which have staggering rates of unemployment, youth can find work in India. What we need, however, is a cultural system that actively promotes entrepreneurship at the most basic roots. If there is one thing that describes an entrepreneur aptly, it is that the entrepreneur is an outlier - that is, he does not fit into the 'norm' of the society. A basic example would be a computer programming teenager whiz who spends all his free time programming. In the West, the teenager who spends all his time programming would surely be frowned upon by his classmates, but would still be able to find outlets to keep honing his craft, and the teenager would most likely end up having a brilliant future. He might eventually take that skill set and apply it towards creating something that has never been created before - the true tenet of an entrepreneur. The entrepreneur might not even finish college. India creates a difficult environment for that same situation to materialise. The teenager would be assigned poor grades and the cultural system makes it difficult for the individual to become an entrepreneur of the highest level. A 17-year old who has a strong passion for a particular hobby and wants to turn it into business has many outlets to turn to in the West. India's emphasis on engineering, medical schools, and studies makes it difficult for the same 17-year old to pursue a business venture. It takes extreme guts to go against the grain and societal pressures to pursue a business opportunity without a steady income - an environment that makes it even more difficult doesn't help the cause. For example, let's break down the IT sector. India is almost synonymous with IT and provides much of the IT outsourcing that the world needs. NEXT

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