How to Catalyze Youth Entrepreneurship for Positive Social Change in Pakistan
By Sarra Latif
Ashoka Venture and Fellowship Associate
Arlington, VA
Over 22% of the population in Pakistan is between the ages of 15 and 24 years, and yet youth represent a largely untapped resource for social and economic progress. According to Pakistani social innovator and Ashoka Fellow Ali Raza Khan , founder of Youth Engagement Services (YES) Network, the main barrier is a perception of Pakistan’s young people as a burden rather than an asset - a view that most youth internalize. This mindset discourages youth from engaging in community development, which is key for socio-economic transformation. Ali Raza Khan believes that the majority of young people simply lack basic direction and need guidance on integrating social responsibility into their careers. His organization, YES Network, has successfully identified key strategies that effectively engage young people in social entrepreneurship.
Activate empathy for a key skill among the youth
The education system in Pakistan tends to encourage students to focus entirely on personal achievement goals, oftentimes at the expense of their willingness to embrace the critical issues in their communities. Social change is meaningless and oftentimes difficult to accomplish if the population does not understand empathy. By fostering self-reflection and empathy, civic participation can be initiated as people become more receptive to the struggles that other members of their society face. Empathy allows us to effectively listen to people’s problems, make decisions predicated on their needs and interests, and mobilize others around the cause.
Cultivate creative spaces for innovation
A motivated individual also needs an inspired strategy to bring their vision into being. Innovation means that there is no right or wrong - they must be free to brainstorm and re-invent the idea until they discover the best way forward. A key trait of successful social entrepreneurs is the ability to dream big, think outside the box and propose an idea that is oftentimes unheard of in their context. In this process, local knowledge and optimism serve as great assets. Local ownership and regional relevance are two key aspects of successful social ventures, and both come easiest to an entrepreneur who has been raised and educated in the area they work.
Emphasize holistic practical education for entrepreneurship
Pakistan’s education system typically focuses on rote memorization without equipping students with the skills required to apply their learning in practical settings. A few educational institutions now realize the benefits of pairing traditional education with professional and personal development. These include enhancing communication skills, understanding how to mobilize resources, and the ability to leverage and market their technical expertise. For instance, under its service learning program, YES Network encourages students to apply classroom education through professional experiences. Through such initiatives, students graduate with the confidence, skills and know-how to develop financially sustainable business plans and showcase the social value their creative entrepreneurial ideas add.
Provide platforms for local startup
The volatile political and economic climate of Pakistan serves as a major deterrent for young entrepreneurs. In order to expand the space for social ventures, local stakeholders and investors need to provide suitable platforms for incubating startups, attaining seed funding, networking with experienced entrepreneurs, and partnering with likeminded individuals to implement social ventures. YES Network’s recent initiative, ‘The Emerging Entrepreneur’ is one example, providing financial support to low-income youth to plan and execute business ideas. The underlying purpose was to help young people reduce their fear of starting a business venture by providing them a risk-free environment. Each of the 178 teams, comprising five members each, was given a sum of $23 to start off with. In a period of just one month, they generated US $1170 in profits and over 9500 people benefitted from the ventures. Pakistan also has a growing number of startup incubators and accelerators, such as P@sha and Plan9 , across the country that can provide a launch pad for young innovators looking for support and guidance.
The past decade has witnessed an increasing trend towards social entrepreneurship, with the youth at its core. YES Network, which has been catalyzing social entrepreneurship among young people, has encouraged 20,000 students to create their own ventures, and introduced social entrepreneurship to over 60,000 people in Pakistan. Their success not only reflects the immense potential for social entrepreneurship in Pakistan, but also demonstrates a positive change in how the country’s youth are valued.
( Ashoka: Innovators for the Public is a global organization shaping the way for a world where everyone is a changemaker. Ashoka supports the world’s largest cohort of men and women with system changing solutions for the world's most urgent problems. This post was written by Sarra Latif, Fall 2013 Associate with the Ashoka Venture and Fellowship Team.)
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