Stax and Sarvodaya Fusion foster social business entrepreneurship among youth
Stax Inc. and Sarvodaya Fusion recently commenced a pilot corporate social responsibility (CSR) project titled ‘OWNit!’ to provide entrepreneurship guidance and IT skills to youth from selected schools in the Kotte area.
The initiative draws on Stax’s global focus on technology for education and past experience in fostering entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka, as well as Sarvodaya Fusion’s expertise in ICT education and social entrepreneurship.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Stax and Sarvodaya for this project was signed recently at the Sarvodaya Nagarodaya office, Colombo 8 by Dr. Vinya Ariyaratne, General Secretary of the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement, and Ruwindhu Peiris, Managing Director, Stax Inc. Sri Lanka.
The broader objective of the project is to encourage and assist youth who are just entering the workforce–after having sat for the 2015 G.C.E. Advanced Level examination– to take full ownership of their future earning potential by focusing on honing skills that would help them be better employees, as well as future business owners and employers. The’ OWNit!’ project will involve the immediate past students of Janadhipathi Balika Vidyalaya, Nawala; Hewawitharana Vidyalaya, Rajagiriya; Ananda Balika Vidyalaya, Kotte; Sri Subuthi Vidyalaya, Battaramulla & President’s College, Rajagiriya. Fifteen candidates will be selected from these schools, based on aptitude and interest in entrepreneurship, to follow a specialized course in entrepreneurship and information communication technology. Apart from these modules, all selected youth will also receive practical guidance and mentorship to hone their social business ideas. Sarvodaya Fusion will provide the required curriculum training and course material for the programme, while Stax will contribute funding and mentorship hours to the project.