AIM-UNDP Youth Co:Lab for Young Entrepreneurs

December 18, 2022

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and UNDP India jointly launched the 5th edition of Youth Co:Lab on December 15, 2022.

What is Youth Co:Lab?

  • Youth Co:Lab is the largest youth innovation movement in the Asia Pacific.
  • It was co-created in 2017 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the Citi Foundation.
  • It is a multi-dimensional, and multi-level response to address challenges faced by the youth by positioning young people at the forefront in finding solutions to global challenges that are causing hurdles while achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
  • Its objective is to launch a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower youth to accelerate the progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals 2030 through leadership, social innovation, and entrepreneurship.
  • Till date, the Youth Co:Lab initiative has been implemented in 28 countries and territories, involving 2 lakh participants, and benefiting more than 11,000 young social entrepreneurs, and supporting some 1,240 social enterprises.
  • Young start-up founders aging 18 to 29 having solutions for real problems and/or creating meaningful co-innovation opportunities are eligible to apply and receive support under this initiative.
  • It was launched in India in 2019 by the UNDP India in collaboration with the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog.
  • The fifth edition seeks to support young social entrepreneurs working to realize social change and further the implementation of the SDG target actions.

What are the focus areas for Youth Colab 2022-23?

The five thematic areas that Youth Colab 2022-23 focuses on are:

  • Boosting youth’s digital and financial literacy
  • Gender equality and women’s economic empowerment
  • Developing financial technology solutions for biodiversity conservation
  • Promoting biodiversity-friendly lifestyles through financial technologies
  • Accelerating Circular Economy via Upcycling Innovations
  • Behavioural Nudges for LiFE (Lifestyle For Environment)

Through this initiative, 30 early-stage startups would be supported by a springboard programme. The best performing startups will be eligible for receiving grant for scaling up their businesses.

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