Need for Ingenious Entrepreneurial Mobilisation of Sri Lankan youth

By Heshika N. Deegahawathura 

Sri Lankan youth have been mobilised in the past. Not once, but many times in the post-independence era. The ’70s and ’80s saw the Marxist revolution in the South, while the three decades following 1983 saw the civil war in the north and east. The results of such have, unfortunately, been detrimental to the collective growth of the country.

What is clear though is that the youth of Sri Lanka, under the rightful guidance, have the potential to be mobilised for a greater cause. What if this cause could serve both a selfish and self-less goal? Selfish in that it would have a monetary benefit and selfless in that it would be addressing the collective needs and issues of the nation through an entrepreneurial approach. What if Sri Lankan youth could lead the way in Ingenious Entrepreneurial Mobilisation (IEM) of youth in developing economies? 

Entrepreneurship, in its bare form, is the willingness of an individual to take financial risk and operate a business. We see many entrepreneurs in society. The corner store owner in the village who survives by buying goods on credit and selling them to the village folk and the young man who has bought a three-wheeler for monthly instalments, and operates it for hire, are both entrepreneurs. 

It is easy for a young lad to walk into a finance company and buy a three wheeler for monthly instalments. He could then operate it and pay those instalments without any hassle. It’s a low-risk, easy method practiced by thousands of youth in the country. In fact, the youth are pushed for such options because it is seen as the only alternative or because it’s seen as an easy way to make a quick buck. 

However, these methods of entrepreneurship do not facilitate real economic growth beyond self-sustenance and lack entrepreneurial ingenuity. Thus, the term ‘ingenious entrepreneurship’ refers to entrepreneurial efforts that bring forth innovative ideas or products that can address a worldly or societal need. It could be an ingenious product that caters to a high end customer base or it could be a simple ingenious service that helps street children get a better education. 

In Sri Lanka, IEM of youth would require a collective effort, in that both the government and the private sector need to invest heavily in fostering the required change. Both stand to gain if such an atmosphere is prevalent and hence it should be incentive enough. 

In the Sri Lankan context, there are multiple levers that need addressing. First, realigning the educational environment. Second, creating a sustainable ecosystem in which such ingenious entrepreneurial efforts by youth are rightly recognised. Third, forming robust fiscal support mechanisms that enable ingenious entrepreneurial models which have promise to go-to-market and eventually scale-up. Fourth, and most importantly, building inspirational rhetoric by political leaders that push the youth towards IEM. 

One of the easiest ways to create such an entrepreneurial outlook amongst the youth might be to inculcate entrepreneurial values in school children at a formative age. Ideally, there needs to be an interactive class on ingenious entrepreneurship that is mandated by the school curriculum. Such efforts should serve to inspire young minds at the prospect of bringing new ideas to the table. This would also enable a societal attitude shift in favour of ingenious entrepreneurship as a tool for personal and communal growth. 

According to the National Human Development Report (NHDR) 2014, the National Youth Survey (2013) found that many young people consider vocational education unattractive. While 85% of the survey respondents said that vocational training is important to secure a job, 62% have not taken any vocational courses. 

Currently, the reward incentives for ingenious entrepreneurship are relatively limited in Sri Lanka. For instance, in the United States, Forbes Magazine highlights some of the youth who have come to the forefront of ingenious entrepreneurship by such platforms such as the “30 under 30”. Of course, Sri Lanka has similar platforms but they are predominantly focused at the business community surrounding Colombo. However, if new recognition platforms that go further into the depth of Sri Lanka’s semi-urban and rural areas are not created Sri Lanka stands to lose a vast chunk of unrealised potential. 

Once an ingenious entrepreneurial idea or product is born, and recognised, it needs to undergo the litmus test of feasibility. If feasible, then there need to be mechanisms and networks that would support the sustainable growth of the idea or product. The current growth seen in local angel networks and private investors are a great starting point. However, this pool of resources will not be sufficient to push for a mass scale mobilisation. The government needs to contribute significantly and dedicate sizeable resources and funds. If possible, even attract foreign investors for the cause. 

Most importantly, there needs to be a build-up of political rhetoric surrounding the Ingenious Entrepreneurial Mobilisation of Sri Lankan youth. It’s rarely that the political rhetoric in Sri Lanka focusses on internal developmental issues. It would be ideal to have mass scale reiterations by political leaders encouraging youth led ingenious entrepreneurial efforts which are then supported by political promises to the cause. We need leaders to motivate our youth to straddle and tame the issues of our times! 

I strongly believe that the Sri Lankan youth have the potential to lead the way in Ingenious Entrepreneurial Mobilisation efforts and thrust the economy to greater heights. In fact, it applies to all youth in the developing world. Hopefully, through the right policies and enthusiasm we’d see our youth build ingenious entrepreneurial solutions that change the world! 

(UNLOCKED is a space for Sri Lankan youth to express their views and opinions on development with the aim of creating positive change in the world. The views expressed in the blogs are solely those of the authors. UNDP Sri Lanka and Daily FT does not represent or endorse the views expressed in these blogs. Read more about the UNLOCKED initiative www.lk.undp.org.)