UNDP India, NITI Ayog & AIM Jointly Launches 5th Edition of Youth Co:Lab for Young Entrepreneurs

The 5th edition of Youth Co:Lab, Asia Pacific's largest youth innovation movement, was jointly launched by Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog, and UNDP India, today. Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director AIM, NITI Aayog, and Mr. Dennis Curry, Deputy Resident Representative, UNDP India, launched the applications for this edition. 

"Entrepreneurs are a powerful force in leading social change and accelerating the movement toward meeting the SDGs target actions," said Dr. Chintan Vaishnav, Mission Director Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, speaking at the event. As a result, I cordially invite our young innovators and entrepreneurs to take advantage of this incredible opportunity to unleash their creativity and build their solutions through the Youth Co:Lab."

Youth Co:Lab is a UNDP India initiative launched in 2019 in collaboration with the Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, to establish a common agenda for Asia-Pacific countries to invest in and empower youth to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Through the fifth edition of Youth Co:Lab India, Atal Innovation Mission and UNDP India are driving this movement by supporting young social entrepreneurs who can lead social change and furthering the implementation of SDGs target actions.

The Youth Co:Lab initiative has been implemented in 28 countries and territories, reaching over 200,000 participants, benefiting over 11,000 young social entrepreneurs, and assisting over 1,240 social enterprises.

"Young people have the ideas and potential to solve some of the country's pressing problems through innovation and social entrepreneurship," said Dennis Curry, Deputy Resident Representative UNDP India, speaking about the great opportunities for young and aspiring entrepreneurs. UNDP is excited to launch the 5th Edition of Youth Co: Lab in collaboration with Atal Innovation Mission, NITI Aayog, to provide a platform for young inspiring and existing entrepreneurs to scale up their solutions for the common good. This is a one-of-a-kind initiative led by young people to address India's most pressing issues through social entrepreneurship and innovation."

The springboard programme would support 30 early-stage start-ups through Youth Co: Lab, with the best receiving a seed grant to scale up their business. Youth Colab 2022-23 has five focus thematic areas:

• Digital and Financial Literacy for Youth

• Gender Equality and Women Economic Empowerment

• Developing FinTech Solutions focused on Biodiversity Conservation

• Promoting Biodiversity-friendly Lifestyles through Technological Solutions in Finance

• Accelerating Circular Economy through Upcycling Innovations

• Behavioural Nudges for LiFE ( Lifestyle For Environment)

Young founders aged 18-29 who are passionate about solving real problems and/or creating meaningful co-innovation opportunities can apply and will be supported throughout the programme.