Start-Up Kashmir!

www.startupkashmir.com
THE SKYE PROJECT
The Start Up Kashmir Youth Entrepreneur Development Project
Enabling Effective Youth Entrepreneurship

Contents
Awareness
The Youth Bulge & Challenges for Kashmir
Mercy Corps &the SKYE Project
Introduction to Entrepreneurship

Action Skills
Steps in Starting a Business
Upcoming SKYE Business Plan Competitions

Learning
Startupkashmir.com
Youth Entrepreneurship Report
Recommended Reading
2

The Youth Bulge

Today, half the worlds population is under 25
the largest proportion of young people ever recorded!
80 percent of worldyouth live in developing
countries

In the next decade, more than a billion young

people will enter the global labor market, yet
economists predict only 300 million new jobs
Employment alone cannot absorb such a surge in
labor supply. Youth energy must be channeled
towards other productive activities
Fortunately, young people are eager to make
a difference and can propel profound change

Awareness

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Kashmirs Challenge

~40 lakh people (representing 66% of Kashmirs population)

are under the age of 30

Upwards of 600,000 youth (48%) in the Kashmir Valley are

unemployed. Out of this, 400,000 are college educated.

The total number of vacancies in the gazetted, non-gazetted

and class-IV categories is approximately only 30,000.

Youth in Kashmir are talented, full of potential and have fertile

brains. But we feel helpless and find no doors open to us

(A Young Kashmiri)

Government jobs in J&K can not create avenues for

employment and growth for these people

Between 2012 and 2022, it is estimated that 4 million

people will be entering the job market in J&K.

Tackling unemployment is a tough task but the solution lies

with those who actively seek to be job creators and not job
seekers

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Mercy Corps Investment in Youth

Mercy Corps recognizes the importance of
engaging young people in achieving its
mission of building secure, productive and
just communities
Mercy Corps facilitates young
peoplessuccessful transition to adulthood by
increasing economic opportunities and
financial independence
Realizing that young people require tailored
and innovative solutions, we support dynamic,
cross-cutting youth economic development
interventions.
Were working to help youth earn a living
and cultivate a sense of responsibility, identity,
creativity and hope
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The SKYE Project

The Start Up Kashmir Youth Entrepreneur (SKYE) Development Project
Launched in October 2010 | 21/2 Year Program | Funded by the Scottish Government
OBJECTIVE

ACTIVITIES

1) Reduce barriers to youth

entrepreneurship in Kashmir.

1) Catalyze a cross-sector network to

foster knowledge sharing, cooperation
and institutional capacities to support
2) Improve support for entrepreneurship. youth entrepreneurship.
3)Strengthen a culture of youth
entrepreneurship that stimulates the
start up and growth of 200 youth
enterprises across the 10 districts of the
Kashmir Valley.

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2) Engage youth to increase awareness

and improve attitudes towards business
and entrepreneurship in Kashmir.

3)Provide opportunities to aspiring youth

entrepreneurs to improve their business
knowledge and skills and provide them
with tangible support to start and grow
their enterprises.

The SKYE Approach

The SKYE project addresses 5 factors
that are crucial to boosting youth
entrepreneurship in the Kashmir valley
1) Social/Cultural Legitimacy &
Acceptance
1) Entrepreneurship Education
&Training
1) Business Assistance & Support
2) Access to Finance
3) Administrative and Regulatory
Framework

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A HOLISTIC, MARKET-BASED
APPROACH

So what exactly does this mean for you as

aspiring entrepreneurs?
1. Social/Cultural Legitimacy & Acceptance
- Outreach & Awareness events to expose youth to the idea of entrepreneurships and the basics of starting a
business.
- Multimedia awareness campaigns (newspapers, radio& TV adverts)

2. Entrepreneurship Education & Training

- Awareness binder and market opportunities booklet.
- Improved JKEDI* entrepreneurship training delivered to aspiring entrepreneurs (like you!) with viable
business plans.
- Mentor training for successful entrepreneurs in SKYEs mentoring network.
- Visit new website www.startupkashmir.com
- Business Plan Competitions (apply via www.startupkashmir.com from April 2012)
3. Business Assistance & Support
- Mentoring network of successful entrepreneurs (join on www.startupkashmir.com)

4.
-

Access to Finance
Linkage of youth entrepreneurs to various opportunities to access start-up finance.
Engaging financial institutes and investors to offer new and improved financial services to youth
entrepreneurs.
5. Administrative and Regulatory Framework
- Policy research and advocacy initiatives to foster improved policies and services to support young
entrepreneurs in Kashmir.
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*For more information about JKEDI, visit: www.jkedi.org

What is Entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the recognition of an opportunity to create value and the
process of acting on this opportunity, whether or not it involves the creation
of a new entity.
Entrepreneurs establish new businesses, develop
existing businesses, create jobs & generate wealth for
themselves & their communities.
For us its not just about profit. Weve created
jobsOur dream is to help make Kashmir
economically strong and self-reliant. (Farooq Amin,
Kashmiri Food & Spice Entrepreneur)
Entrepreneurs create wealth! Not just for themselves
but for others. Often they use the power of wealth to
build a legacy and contribute to society at large.
Without the support of entrepreneurs some of the
greatest initiatives to protect the environment,
heritage, arts and literature, etc would be difficult
to take and sustain.(Bagchi, 2006)
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Bagchi, S (2006), The High Performance Entrepreneur, Penguin Books Ltd, India

Who is an Entrepreneur?
A person who:
Identifies a need or problem that can
be a viable business opportunity
Produces solutions that challenge the
norm.
Takes risks to pursue opportunities
others fail to recognize or are too
fearful to follow.
Is creative, knowledgeable, innovative
and flexible

I have a fire within me, I want to see Kashmir grow

(Mohamed Irfan, Kashmiri IT Entrepreneur)
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Social & Business Entrepreneurs

A Social Entrepreneur:

A Business Entrepreneur:

Focuses on building a business to grow and

maximise profits

Creates and maximises social value;

generating profit is not always the primary
objective
Seizes opportunities to challenge and change
unjust arrangements and improve systems
Is mission-driven and pursues both financial
sustainability and a social return

Acts as a change agent in the social sector

Possesses the passion to achieve personal

goals

Is innovative in his/her approach to develop

and launch products or services
Acts as a change agent and contributes to
economic growth
Often uses his/her success and wealth to give
back to community and contribute to society

If we stop thinking of the poor as victims or as a burden and start recognising them as
resilient and creative entrepreneurs and value conscious consumers, a whole new world
of opportunity will open up(C.K. Prahalad)
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Risks in Starting a Business

Compliance risks

The laws and regulations you must meet e.g. taxation, employment, health and safety. Possible risks:
regulations might increase your production costs, e.g. higher quality standards
health and safety changes could add to your costs, e.g. safety equipment to your workers
Possible consequences: fines or legal problems.

Employee risks

Possible risks:
key staff being ill and unable to work at an important or extended time
industry strike action
Possible consequences: customer service suffers, disruption to production.

Environmental risks

Possible risks:
natural disasters e.g fire,earthquake, flooding andsnow
property damage e.g power failure
Possible consequences: loss or damage to stock or building, disruption.

Financial risks

The financial structure of your business, business transactions, and the financial systems you use. Possible risks:
being overly reliant on a single customer
changes in interest rates
Possible consequences: cash flow shortage.

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Risks in Starting a Business

Health and safety risks

Possible risks:
Injury or death to staff or customers
Possible consequences: poor reputation, fines, being sued.

Operational risks

Part of operational & administrative procedures. Possible risks:

disorganised or inaccurate record keeping
outdated or faulty IT systems
interruptions to your supply chain
Possible consequences: poor reputation, loss of IT data

Political and economic risks

Change of government and government policy, hartals, blockades, recession or interest rate fluctuations. Possible risks:
Interruptions to supply, production and consumption
Possible consequences: reduced/stops in production, reduced demand, reduction in profits

Strategic risks

These affect particular industries. They include the effects of:

changes in customer demand
new technology or practices
Possible consequences: market sees your product or service as outdated, or competitors offer a much lower price or
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better quality.

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Steps in Becoming an Entrepreneur:

1.

Find a Business Idea

1.

Capture your Business Idea

2.

Entrepreneurship training (JKEDI)

1.

Write your Business Plan

1.

Find a Team

2.

Business registrationand ensuring regulatory requirements & licensing

3.

Setting up Infrastructure

4.

Access Finance

5.

Business Assistance & Support

1.

Apply to Start-Up Kashmir Business Plan Competition (finalists will be supported

through Steps 3-9)

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Step 1: Find a Business Idea

The best way to have a good idea is to have lots of ideas.
Linus Pauling

Every entrepreneurial venture starts from a

good idea.

A good idea is one that will make a difference

and can actually be done.
The essence of generating good ideas involves
listening and learning.
Listen to the situations that matter to you, to
the people in those situations, and for the
inherent possibilities that are always there.
See Start-up Kashmir Market Opportunities
Booklet andStartupkashmir.com
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Step 1: Find a Business Idea

Many processes have been developed for generating a good idea. We can
organize the process into four distinct, but interrelated moments:

LEARN

CREATE

DO

ADAPT

Learn everything you

can about the
situation and the
people in it.

Based on what you

learned from
understanding the
situation and the
people involved in it?

Translate your best

solution into a set of
definable goals that
can be measured.

What worked and did

not work in in the plan
thus far?

What would it "look"

like for that problem
to be solved or the
opportunity to be
fully engaged?

Ie. how will you know

that you are achieving
the solution you are
working towards?

What needs to be
changed or enhanced?
What are the best next
steps to implement
necessary
adjustments?

What are some

possible ways to
achieve the ideal
situation?

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Step 1: Find a Business Idea

Feasibility Study
Analyse the idea for
strengths,
weaknesses,
opportunities and
threats (SWOT)

A GOOD IDEA

Consider the market

environment,
resources required
and the possibility of
its future success.

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Identified
Business
Opportunity

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Step 2: Capture Your Business Idea

What are your customers buying?

Who is going to buy your

products/services?
How many potential
customers?
Who are your competitors?

In the next 3, 6,12 months ,what

are specific milestones to accomplish?
What does your business look like
in 1, 3 & 5 years?
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What is the cost to make your

product or deliver service?
How much do you have to
charge to earn a reasonable
profit?
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Step 3: Entrepreneurship Training

Contact J&K Entrepreneurship Development Institute
(JKEDI)- offers entrepreneurial training as well as various
financing schemes for youth start-up entrepreneurs.

For more information visit www. jkedi.org

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Step 4: Write Your Business Plan

Purpose: to enable the entrepreneur to fully think through
his/her mission, objectives,goals, strategy, and expenses, thus
creating a well thought out long-term vision forthe business.
Entrepreneurs should tap into advice & expertise of existing
entrepreneurs, consultants, mentors, lawyers etc
BUT the entrepreneur must create the business plan personally.
Creates familiarity with all details and costs- informs future
decision making
Investors and financiers expect this as a minimum.
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Step 4: Write Your Business Plan

A Business Plan:
is NOT merely a tool to attract an
investor or secure a bank loan.
Is an essential management tool for all
entrepreneurs.
Provides a blueprint and manual on
translating your idea into a profitable
service or product.
Can serve as a powerful diagnostic tool
in case things go wrong.
Can be presented to mentors and
potential investors and partners.
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Step 4: Components of a Business

Plan
1.

Cover page and table of contents

2.

Executive Summary: Conveys clearly and succinctly what you want investors to read.

3.

Business Description: The vision and direction of the business, also outlines legal and
organizational structures, business location, size, etc.

4.

Business Environment Analysis (PESTLE Analysis Political, Economic, Socio-cultural,

Technical, Legal, and Environment Analysis): Examines their impact on the business.
Used to pursue opportunities and mitigate risks.

5.

Industry Background Analysis:

Geographic Area local? regional? statewide? national? international?
Industry size, trends, outlook
Product
Buyers target customers
Regulatory Environment
Company Information identify and research most successful businesses

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Step 4: Components of a Business

Plan
6. Competitor Analysis: Strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors to
identify opportunities and threats.

7.

Market Analysis: Describes the competitive environment and proves the product/service is
niche with substantial prospects for growth and capable of being competitive.

8.

Marketing Plan: Explains how a business gets its customers to buy the products and/or
services (refer to market research). Includes:

Products and/or Services and your Unique Selling Proposition

Pricing Strategy

Sales/Distribution Plan

Advertising and Promotions Plan

9.

Operations Plan: Describes how to get the product/service to the market and to target
customers. Answer the following:

Who is doing what?

What are the day to day activities?

How will the suppliers and vendors be used?

Who are the suppliers?

What are the labour requirements?

What are the sources of raw materials?

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Step 4: Components of a Business

Plan
10. Management Plan: Describes the management team and staff
and how the business ownership is structured. Sections include
:

Ownership structure
Internal management team
External management resources
Human resources needs.

11. Financial Plan: Determines viability of a business and whether

or not investors will be attracted. Consists of 3 financial
statements and brief explanation of these:
1.
2.
3.

Income statement
Cash flow projection
Balance sheet

12. Milestones and attachments: Real budgets, deadlines, and

management responsibilities.
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Step 4: Business Plan Checklist

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

WHILE YOU WRITE

WHEN YOU ARE DONE

Complete market research

and analyses
Clarify key matters relating to
products/services
and
technology
Form the basis of the
management team
Prepare a strategic plan as
framework for detailed plan
Decide the central purpose of
the plan and its target audience
Locate professional advisers
to assist with the planning
Acquire any software tools
needed to help prepare the
plan
Research and compile a list
of possible recipients of the
plan
Ascertain any specific needs
of likely key recipients

Create a framework for the plan e.g. table of

contents
Identify possible appendices, attachments etc.
Estimate page lengths for each key section
List main issues and topics to be covered
within key sections
Assign work programs based on the framework
and lists
Draft preliminary sections (excluding summary)
within the front of the plan
Draft all key sections in the plan's body in a
logical sequence
Compile
financial
projections,
funding
proposals and related appendices
Check the preliminary draft for completeness
and fill gaps
Let an outsider or adviser critique the latest
draft
Redraft, fine tune and spell check
Write the executive summary and plan's
conclusion
Get an independent assessment of the final
draft

Create a framework for the plan

e.g. table of contents
Identify possible appendices,
attachments etc.
Is the plan nicely presented bound, page numbered etc.?
Has the plan been spell checked
in its final form?
Is the plan's length appropriate to
its purpose?
Have the business's (funding)
needs been clearly stated?
Does the plan's summary
stimulate interest?
Have all key questions been
anticipated?
What likely objections remain
unresolved?
Will the plan provoke the desired
responses?

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Step 5: Find a Team

Develop a team with the right skills and competencies to implement the idea

To do list:

Clarify the business vision and proposed

product/service
Share vision with core team
Agree direction towards growth in 1st year
Ensure team members have required & complimentary
skills
Ensure trust & good dynamic amongst team members
Discuss roles, responsibilities & benefits for each team
member
Write up team contracts (inc job title, period of
employment, salary, work hours, leave,
disciplinary/termination procedures, Scope of Work
etc).

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Step 6: Registering your Business

Choose a Business Name
Choose a Form of Organisational Structure:
- Sole proprietorship
- Partnership firm
- Public limited company
- Limited liability partnership
- Private limited company
- Co-operative
Create a Corporate Identity (logo, baseline, business card, letterhead, website, stationary etc)
Consider Legal Aspects:
-Accounting records
-Tax
-Advisers
-Intellectual property
-Copyrights and Trademarks
-Patents
-Website design & compliance
-Online contracts
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Step 7: Setting Up Infrastructure

Choosing a location:

Suitable for type of business?

Accessible to potential customers?
Meets your layout requirements?
Building requires repairs? Adequate ventilation?
Well connected to transport network?
Availability of basic amenities (water, electricity)?
If rented or leased- are terms favourable?
Competitors located close by? Can you compete?
Parking space?
Can suppliers make convenient deliveries?
Meets government guidelines & regulations?
Will the government offer land and building tax, water, power, transport or
pollution control concessions or incentives?
Can building support future business growth?
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Step 8: Access to Finance

Estimate the total amount and type of capital
required (fixed capital, working capital etc).
Identify source of finance:
Start with JKEDI (www.jkedi.org)
Bootstrapping (personal funds)
Angel investor (affluent individual provides
capital in exchange for convertible debt or
ownership equity)
Bank credit: Loans, cash credit or overdraft.
Special Financial Institutions (eg State Financial
Corporation, State Industrial Development
Corporation)
Short term sources (eg Trade credit, Installment
credit, Accounts receivable financing, customer
advance)
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Step 9:Business Assistance &

Support
BAS is Formal and informal non-financial services that help entrepreneurs
transform startup businesses into successful enterprises
Type of BAS:

Market access
Infrastructure
Policy and advocacy
Input supply
Training and technical assistance
Technology and product development
Alternative financing mechanisms

Institutions that offer BAS to young entrepreneurs in Kashmir:

1. Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI)*
2. Craft Development Institute (CDI)**
3. Jammu and Kashmir State WomensDevelopment Corporation (JKWDC)***

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* www.jkedi.org
** www.cdisgr.org
*** www.jkwdc.com

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Start-up Kashmir
Business Plan Competition!
Starting a new business is demanding and requires extensive support and assistance.
Therefore the SKYE Project is organising:

Twenty Start-up Kashmir Business Plan Competitions for

1000

aspiring youth entrepreneurs.

Outputs:
400 finalists will receive:

200winnerswill receive:

Start up Kashmir!Entrepreneurship
Develop Programme- delivered by
JKEDI
Support to improve business plans and
prepare presentations.

Mini-seed award
One-on-one mentoring to improve business
plan
Apprenticeship/mentoring opportunities
Business registration support services
Support services to prepare applications to
JKEDI for training and possible financial
support.

SeeStartupkashmir.comfor
more information!!
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Sign-up on StartupKashmir.com

Start-Up Kashmir is a resourceful

networking
platform
for
entrepreneurs to connect with each
other, find mentors, share ideas
and local market opportunities.

It s a unique and innovative

platform that facilitates collective
learning, knowledge, expertise and
resources sharing among aspiring
and young entrepreneurs of
Kashmir.

And join us on facebook/startupkashmir

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Youth Entrepreneurship Report

Research from 10 districts of Kashmir

Valley to analyze and understand key
factors that are critical to boosting youth
entrepreneurship.

Suggests a way forward towards

building an ecosystem that can support
youth start-up entrepreneurship in the
Kashmir Valley.

Identifies and advocates steps that can

help reduce barriers and improve
support for youth entrepreneurship in
Kashmir.

Download Now!
www.startupkashmir.com
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Recommended Reading List

The High Performance Entrepreneur

(SubrotoBagchi)

Entrepreneurs Toolkit

(Harvard Business Essentials)

The Art of the Start(Guy Kawasaki)

Entrepepedia

(Entrepreneur Press)

(Professor NandiniVaidyanathan)

The Professional(SubrotoBagchi)

Go Kiss the World: Life Lessons

for the Young Professional
(SubrotoBagchi)

Biz World
(Ravi Handa&AvinshMaurya)
Start Your Own Business: The
Only Startup Book YoullEver Need
The Fortune at the Bottom
of the Pyramid
(C.K. Prahalad)

Harvard Business Review

on Entrepreneurship

Good to Great
(Jim Collins)

Six Thinking Hats

(Edward De Bono)

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Start-Up Kashmir Vocabulary

A Business (also known as enterprise,business enterprise or firm) is
an organization engaged in the production or provision of goods, services, or both
to consumers for generating profits and achieve growth.
A Business Opportunity is a packaged investment consisting of 1) a need 2) the
means to fulfill the need 3) a method to apply the means to fulfill the need and 4) a
method to benefit. A business opportunity will allow you to start a business.
Entrepreneurship is the recognition of an opportunity to create value, and the
process of acting on this opportunity to create a business.
A Start-Up is generally a newly created business enterprise which is in a phase of
development and has newly launched its products/services in the market.

Innovation is the transformation of an idea into something useful! An entrepreneur

creates his business upon an exceptional and/or innovative business idea.

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Start-Up Kashmir Vocabulary

A Business Plan is the formal written expression of the entrepreneurial vision,
describing the strategy and operations of the proposed venture. The business plan
also goes by other names, depending on its intended audience. Presented to a
banker, it may be called a "loan proposal." A venture capital group might call it the
"venture plan" or "investment prospectus.
A Green Business or Sustainable Business is a business enterprise that does not
negatively affect on the local, regional or global environment, community, society, or
economy.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is represented by the contributions
undertaken by businesses to society through their core business activities and social
development and welfare programs.

Note: The use of any third party trademarks, logos, or brand names in this
presentation is for informational purposes only, and does not imply an
endorsement by Mercy Corps or vice versa or that such trademark owner
has authorized Mercy Corps to promote its products or services

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