UNDP to promote social innovation and entrepreneurship among Lankan youth 

The United Nations Development Progeramme (UNDP) has partnered with a range of stakeholders from the Government and the private sector to further invest in the potential of young people in the areas of technology, entrepreneurship and social innovation.

'HackaDev', the National Youth Social Innovation Challenge, is one such initiative which is a platform for young people to be a part of the solutions to development challenges within their communities.

Co-financed by the Ministry of Telecommunication, Digital Infrastructure and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), together with the Information and Communication Technology Agency of Sri Lanka and the National Youth Services Council, the challenge recently carried out 9 idea auditions through 9 provincial programs.

Following the idea auditions, the 45 best social innovation ideas have now been selected for 3 five-day residential social innovation camps in 3 locations around the country throughout the month of October, engaging 15 teams each. At the camps, the teams will be taken through a journey of building, refining, mentoring and validating their idea, in a carefully designed program to support social innovation ideas in the Sri Lankan context. A total of 11 teams will receive seed funding and incubation support.

Earlier in the year, prior to the call for applications, the program successfully concluded an Ideation and outreach phase in 25 programs covering all districts of the country, engaging more than 2500 young people.

Sachindra Samararatne, Programme Manager, ICTA Sri Lanka stated "The Idea Auditions were an interactive experience for the applicants where the teams were given an opportunity to present their innovative solutions to a comprehensive panel of judges. There were some very interesting solutions to some development issues so now we are excited to see how the selected teams will refine and validate these ideas with the knowledge and expertise shared at the five-day social Innovation camps in October." 

Another flagship initiative is the 'Technopreneurship for Social Change' program which focuses on catalyzing social change by creating and empowering a large cohort of Technopreneurs in the country. The initiative reaches more than 1000 young people around the country through 20 programs in 20 locations through e-learning courses on leadership, financial literary and entrepreneurship.

Speaking about her experience, Hansani Erangika Palihawadana, participant from Matale in the Central Province stated, "I had always wanted to start my own business but it was just an idea and I didn't know how to go about it. I heard about this programme through our youth center and so I signed up immediately. Through the modules that were taught to us, I realized that it is actually a possibility. I am very excited now and confident that I can make it happen."