SAP, UNDP to foster digital skills in rural Karnataka

Hyderabad: SAP Labs India and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India on Friday said they have collaborated with the Karnataka government to facilitate increased access to career guidance, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities as well as promote digital skills to empower women and youth.

On World Youth Skills Day, Manjushree, Mission Director, National Livelihood Mission in Karnataka initiated the Code Unnati's registration drive for women participants from the grassroots to undergo various interventions. This includes continuous experiential training to build enterprise awareness, development program imparting basic enterprise planning, and Community Cadres (Unnati Sakhi's) mentorship and handholding support.

Code Unnati engages with academia, government institutions at the state and district level, incubation centres, civil societies, and other bodies to create a sustainable impact.

More than 300 women are expected to initiate their own businesses in three years and enhance their income by an anticipated 10 per cent within 18 months of the programme's initiation, the statement said. Karnataka has been at the forefront of creating digital opportunities while nurturing one of the country's most mature IT and start-up ecosystems. This initiative is further working towards strengthening the enabling ecosystem with a focus on skilling.

The initiative aims to reach over 20,000 youth and 5,000 women in Bangalore Rural, Raichur and Dakshin Kannada districts over the next three years.

"The pandemic has heightened many existing inequalities. Empowering women and youth to access sustainable livelihood opportunities is critical to ensuring an inclusive and sustainable recovery. With the Karnataka government and SAP, we intend to leverage our collective strengths to expand opportunities for young people and women and to help make communities more resilient," UNDP India Deputy Resident Representative Nadia Rasheed said.