UnLtd India partnered JP Morgan and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, alliance will fund early stage skill development startups

New Delhi : Startup incubator has struck a partnership with JP Morgan and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation to provide seed capital and mentoring to early stage social enterprises providing offerings to enhance skills and employability of low-income youth.

JP Morgan and Michael and Susan Dell Foundation have collectively allocated Rs. 4 crores to a time-bound program launched by UnLtd India to find social enterprises that are developing products and services for the skills and employability sector.

Less than 5% of India’s workforce of 500 million has received any form of formal vocational training, according to various estimates. Half of India’s workforce in 2010 was either illiterate or had primary/less than primary education, these estimates suggest. “With the support of our partners, we plan to leverage our experience in early-stage incubation, to specifically support social enterprises and non-profits in the skills sector”, said Pooja Warier, Co-founder and CEO of UnLtd India.

UnLtd, founded in 2007, claims to have supported 130 social enterprises since its inception, enabling them with financial support and mentoring.

The three-way initiative will look to provide coaching and mentoring to entrepreneurs to scale up their enterprises and enable them to develop networks with funders, experts and other stakeholders in the skills sector. The funds are likely to be allocated to startups that are developing content and training modules for skill enhancement and providing counseling and employability support to low-income youth.

Michael and Susan Dell Foundation has invested more than Rs. 1000 crore in India in non-profits and social enterprises since 2006.

The Modi Government launched the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana in 2015 as part of its “Skill India” initiative. The government has sharply increased allocation to skill development efforts, earmarking a budget of Rs. 3000 crore for the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship for the financial year 2017-18.

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