All over the globe, the International Literacy Day is celebrated on 8th September every year. The implication is that on this day, in 1965 the World Congress of Ministers of Education met in Tehran for the first time – to discuss the programme of education at the international level.
Significantly, the UNESCO in its 14th Session in November 1966, declared 8th September as the International Literacy Day (ILD). Since then, ILD is celebrated on 8th September every year. The key aspect of the observance of ILD is to rally public opinion in favour of the struggle against illiteracy. Actually, ILD is a forum to disseminate information on literacy and raise public awareness and highlight the significance of literacy for individual and national development.
Talking of Literacy, first and foremost, the discipline of education comes to mind. In organizations, a great deal of education is planned and implemented. Here, the education system is right from the beginning, biased to promote employee skill sets rather than employer skill sets.
We can now, look at the “Saksham” initiative. Sheatwork was elated to be a part of NIELIT initiative “????-?? – Power of She” campaign to encourage entrepreneurship among women under Digital India. The National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology (NIELIT), a body under Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India had launched a unique initiative “Power of She” – aimed at encouraging entrepreneurship among women under ‘Digital India’.
Under this initiative, over 200 female students from NIELIT Centres spread across different geographical locations participated through the smart virtual classrooms that facilitates live interactive. This environment is designed to encourage young girls to take up training and employment opportunities to build a trained female workforce. Local businesses have engaged with the project to promote women-friendly work environments.
At this point, the concept of “entrepreneurial literacy” can be brought in, which is seen today as a necessity for the new age that has dawned upon us. In a fast-paced and changing world, actions that arise from opportunites are the ones that stand out. These in fact, have the best chance of becoming successful and productive.
In social and economic enterprenurial activity alike, the key element is the human one – entrepreneurs. We can say that particularly young entrepreneurs, play an important role in shaping the future through innovation. It is seen as a space that has some basic knowledge of how a business is created and managed. When you are entrepreneurial literate, and you are in the space of small businesses. You can say, you are a student but someone who puts his or her learning into practice. You launch your idea, then move to market that idea; then you also constantly work to refine your business model. You then emerge as someone who makes sure your passion transforms into a profit center.
So, what we can witness today, is entrepreneurial literacy in action. The journey to become an entrepreneur starts from real experiences that test your knowledge and skills and motivations. You need to be literate – education-wise, plus you need to have knowledge about the business you have taken up, and some financial and legal knowledge too – for these also need to be picked up by the entrepreneur. Professional knowledge is what will back you up. This is important because too many people who want to start small businesses lack critical understanding about financial matters including budgeting, taxes, balancing the cashflow, managing credit cards or lines of credit, and developing sales projections.
Pursuing entrepreneurial literacy is about the research you do, to find out all details, study the market – as you prepare to start your business. Real entrepreneurial skills come from your work and industry experience, and your willingness to continue learning.
Entrepreneurial literacy is a must, if you have to become truly independent and not be burdened working under anyone. You can be your own Boss! If you are on track to pick up the skills to become an entrepreneur, then you are on the right path. For these skills will empower everyone to not only to succeed in business but in turn, will also fuel the country’s economy.
Avtar Madan
Poonam Sinha
Ruby Sinha
