Taking a cue from Zoho Corporation’s rural recruitment initiative, the International Start-up Festival Network (ISF Network) has started a ‘JuniCorn’ movement to promote entrepreneurship among students as young as 12. This initiative seeks to identify, nurture and mentor students, providing them with the resources and opportunities to become successful entrepreneurs. 

“Traditional education systems are not adequately preparing students for the rapidly evolving job market. Degrees are becoming less relevant and platforms like YouTube can provide the necessary skills. The JuniCorn movement aims to bridge this gap by offering mentorship from over 800 global mentors, organising events and competitions, and facilitating interaction with industry leaders and venture capitalists,” JA Chowdhary, who was the first Director of STPI in Hyderabad and has advised several State Governments on IT, told businessline.

The ISF organised a curtain-raiser event at the International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-Hyderabad) to announce the details of JuniCorns.

The JuniCorn movement aims to democratise entrepreneurial opportunities, making them accessible to all, including rural youth. “This not only benefits individual students to become entrepreneurs but it also also transforms rural India as the initiative could create solutions for the problems the rural areas are facing,” he said.

“The goal is to provide young people with the visibility and resources they need to become successful entrepreneurs, much like Zoho Corporation, which employs individuals as young as tenth grade or intermediate level, even from rural backgrounds,” he said.

The ISF recently conducted a global startup conference in Hyderabad, with startup representatives from several countries attending it.

He said the ISF built a network of over 800 global mentors that are willing to guide these young entrepreneurs.

“The ISF is planning to organise hackathons and other competitions in schools and colleges as a run for the final event scheduled to be held in Dallas, the US, in May.

“We will sensitise venture capitalists that these young individuals have the potential to create successful businesses and generate significant returns on investment,” he said. 

Chowdhary emphasises the importance of catching these young minds early and channeling their energy in the right direction. He believes that “if their talent is not properly guided, it could be wasted or even lead them down negative paths”.