According to a new survey, three in four Indian students have the ambition of owning their own business, but most of them encounter huge challenges, such as the absence of mentorship and financing. According to the report, which was compiled on the opinions of 1,000 students and 200 industry experts, the interest of students in entrepreneurship is high, but the support systems should be improved.
The major problem of a student entrepreneur
In a recent survey, more than 35 percent of students cited the lack of good mentorship as the greatest obstacle to starting up their own businesses. Lack of support in legal and financial issues (24%) and funding problems (22%) were also significant issues. Although there was a smaller number of respondents who experienced fear of failure (13%), the difficulty in balancing academics and entrepreneurship (7%) was still a significant obstacle to overcome.
The paper also pointed out that organizations that have transparent governance, ethical behaviors, and proper reporting are likely to gain more investor trust. To the industry leaders, governance is not a constraint but a way to sustainable development. Also, the investors were demonstrated to attach great importance to the social impact of the business and the truthfulness and integrity of its founders, which highlights the increased role of ethical entrepreneurship in the current ecosystem.
The University's role in supporting Entrepreneurs.
Nearly half of the students believed their universities are assisting in entrepreneurship development, and almost 90 percent of the students would like courses on ethics and financial responsibility to be part of their education. Nevertheless, a small proportion of them were entirely satisfied with the current incubation programs, and there was a necessity to build stronger relationships between universities and the business world to provide actual mentorship.
This year’s Leadership report identifies a positive change that the young entrepreneurs are currently interested in creating trustworthy and sustainable businesses, and not only rapid growth. According to the experts, educators should promote such a balance between ambition and responsibility at an early age.
This survey acts as a wake-up call to enhance support of student startups to make the next generation of entrepreneurs in India successful with integrity and vision.