Skip to content Skip to navigation

Boost for Assam youth entrepreneurship

The U.S. Consulate General, Kolkata in collaboration with social enterprise Contact Base, is launching a youth entrepreneurship initiative – Y4BIZ (Youth for Business) in four cities Guwahati, Patna, Ranchi and Kolkata. The program in Guwahati took place in association with the local organization, Startup Assam.

The Y4BIZ program aims to support a promising group of 50 young entrepreneurs, and transform their business ideas from the initial stage to a sustainable business model.

The 50 entrepreneurs will be selected by a rigorous screening process after the launch events in all four cities. This will be followed by an online capacity building and mentoring program run by the IC2 Institute, University of Texas, Austin. A group of ten mentors will also be selected to be trained at the Nexus Incubator Hub, which is housed inside the American Center in New Delhi.

Finally, the top 10 business ideas will be showcased before industry leaders, investors and policy makers; to celebrate entrepreneurship and recognize the youth leaders in 2018.

The Director of the American Center and Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Consulate General Kolkata Jamie Dragon said, “Youth entrepreneurship development is a proven strategy that positively impacts the lives of young people. This project seeks to foster a culture of entrepreneurship in eastern India and to strengthen linkages between American and Indian youth leaders.”

This initiative is launched during the celebration of the November 13-17 Global Entrepreneurship Week, and is part of a series of activities leading up to the upcoming Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) that is scheduled for November 28-30.

The Director of Nexus in New Delhi American Centre, Erik Azulay mentions.

Suman Mukhopadhyay, Director & Vice President (Finance & Strategy) of Contact Base mentioned, “An entrepreneurs' journey is a journey of loneliness. For first generation early stage entrepreneurs this can be a daunting challenge to surmount. If one is attempting to start an enterprise in the eastern region of India, odds are stacked too unfavorably.”

The next Y4BIZ launch event is scheduled for November 16 in Patna.

Author info

Syed Miraz Ahmed's picture

Writes, edits and researches. In 2013 he was conferred the Rotary International District 3240 Young Achiever Award for his work in the area of environment and digital journalism. In 2006 he was awarded first in the category of Wildlife Photography by the Department of Environment & Forests and Tourism, Government of Assam.

Add new comment

Assamese Translator

Assam Times seeks English to Assamese translators!
Join our volunteer team.
Email editor@assamtimes.org.

Random Stories

Discover North East touches Jagiroad

31 Oct 2014 - 9:44am | Abdul Gani
It was a wonderful morning for many in Jagiroad as cultural troupes from different parts of the Northeast performed their beautiful dances on Thursday.It was a part of fanning programme of the...

Kamala Bezboruah awards

29 Sep 2015 - 7:03pm | AT News
The annual award of stipends of the Kamala Bazboruah Memorial Trust (KBMT) was held at the Office of the Directorate of Employment & craftsman training in Guwahati on Tuesday.   ...

Reshuffle: Barman, Bora, Neog to look after education department

18 Jun 2008 - 1:55pm | editor
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi has allocated the education portfolio to three ministers namely Dr Bhumidhar Barman, Gautam Bora and tourism minister Ajanta Neog.According to information, Dr Barman...

Slogans and protest in Namrup tea garden

18 Apr 2018 - 11:54am | Akshaya Pranab Kalita
NAMRUP: More than 3,000 tea garden workers and their family members raided the management of the Dilli Tea Estate in Namrup reiterating a slew of demands on Wednesday. They thronged the office...

Other Contents by Author

The People’s Democratic Council of Karbi-longri (PDCK) Thursday rubbished what it term ed as a “strange” news report aired by News 18 on November 7, 2017 with graphics of photographs and videos on the basis of a police claim. “The news report emphatically asserted that our Home Secretary, Mir-ang Sir-ang was and is directly involved in cases of poaching rhinos in the Kaziranga National Park. The allegation made by the greedy Assam Police personnel and corrupt forest department officials against PDCK and its Home Secretary for killing rhinos is baseless and fabricated. It is an insinuation of the worst kind manufactured out of thin air in order to tarnish the image of this promising...
Investigators from the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) returned to India this week to continue the search for remains of U.S. personnel missing since World War II.  Last year, DPAA deployed a team to northeast India for 30 days in search of remains for unaccounted-for U.S. airmen, and this is their fifth mission to India since 2013. There are approximately 400 U.S. airmen missing in India, most of whose remains are believed to be located in the Himalayan Mountains in northeast India.  During World War II, the United States provided supplies to the Chinese Army by flying over the Himalayas, a route known as “The Hump.”  Many of these aircraft went missing and were...
The People's Democratic Council of Karbi-longri (PDCK) an affiliate of the United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia (UNLFWSEA) Sunday condemned the atrocities committed by what it terms ‘Indian occupation forces’ upon two arrested persons, namely Rau Engleng and Longsing Teron.  “They used electric shocks and beating as a method of torture to extract information and forced them to confess. These practices are gross violations of Article 3 common to the Geneva Convention,” said the outfit.  Stating statutes, PDCK said that occupation forces should recognize the International Humanitarian Law and the Law of Armed Conflict, which protect persons as a target for...
One Planet Academy, a digital portal was launched ​in Guwahati on Wednesday as a part of WWF-India’s initiative in partnership with Capgemini to create awareness ​in the area of environment and ​ ​ educate students and citizens through an interactive ​ interface​. Leveraging the affinity of today’s learners towards technology, the website focuses on various environmental themes and is a digital hub for schools, teachers and students that brings under its ambit a digital training and resource centre. One Planet Academy is the first of its kind digital hub for environment education for schools, teachers, students and citizens. The OPA is designed to be a one stop destination for engaging not...
The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee, Sunday filed an FIR at Bhangagarh Police Station, Guwahati, seeking immediate arrest and prosecution under the Criminal Procedure Code following remarks made by Jorhat Lok Sabha Constituency MP, Kamakhya Prasad Tassa on Saturday in a meeting held at Sonari in Charaideu District. Tassa described Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi as 'garbage' in the presence of Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal. 
The final round of the 10th International Edition of the Wild Wisdom Quiz, organised by WWF-India and Discovery Kids in association with Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), was held at WWF-India, New Delhi on October 6, 2017.The event saw participation from 28 city level winners across the country and 2 winners from Nepal.Wild Wisdom Quiz has grown in strength over the last decade and has reached beyond the country, with Nepal running its first edition of the quiz in 2017. In India, the Wild Wisdom Quiz is being run across 817 schools in 14 cities with participation from approximately 50,000 students. Run in the format of a competition, the quiz is a fun way to help children learn...
Organized by Abiogenesis Society with sponsorship from North East Council, Ministry of DoNER, Shillong; Artist Aloud as Digital Promotion Partner, Asian News International (ANI) for international news coverage and Doordarshan Kohima Kendra for live telecast, the festival aims to showcase music made by indigenous social groups of the region.The main event on October 7, will see a very strong line up at IMC Hall, Dimapur from 5:30 pm featuring eight renowned artistes and bands.They are: Summersalt – a folk fusion band from Meghalaya who has been featured in the Bollywood film Rock On 2, Jambili – a folk fusion band from Assam, Imphal Talkies – a six member folk rock band from...
​​A land without ruins is a land without memories – a land without memories is a land without history: so wrote Reverend Abram Joseph Ryan, an American poet, popularly known as the Poet – Priest of the South and also as the Poet-Laureate of the Confederacy. Ruins are not alone physical remains of a building or a structure, but embodiment of memories. The past is deeply entrenched in them. Even in a stage of dilapidation, besides the stories of glory and loss, they also weave narratives of a sense of being part of that past which stand right there to be touched and felt. The historical monuments of the pre-colonial Dimasa state today lie in a state of ruins across vast geographical areas...
The proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom [ULFA-Independent] expresses delight in the arrival of the under seventeen Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup soccer matches in homeland Assam. “I, on behalf of my organisation, thank FIFA for bringing International Football to this remote part of the world and a warm welcome to the FIFA officials and players of different nations to Assam,” states Abhizeet Asom, the elusive Chairman of the outfit.He believes that the people of Assam will immensely benefit by the experience, learning about international standards in football by witnessing the ways and manners of the teenage players from different countries and...
The regional meet of the all the North-Eastern States Legal Services Authorities under the aegis of the  National States Legal Servives Authorities was held at Shillong on September 27 and was inaugurated by Hon'ble Mr Justice Ranjan Gogoi, Judge, Supreme Court of India & Executive Chairman, National Legal Services Authority.The Meet  which saw the participation of the Chief Justices and Judges from the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura accompanied by the Judicial Officers of the respective states commenced with the inaugural programme by the delivery of welcome address by Hon'ble Mr Justice Sudip Ranjan Sen, Judge,...