To mark the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2022, Youth Co:Lab held an inspiring panel discussion with insights into the lives of entrepreneurs from the indigenous communities.
The virtual discussion on ‘Young Indigenous Entrepreneurs: Empowering communities and Protecting the Planet’ held on 4th August 2022, aimed to shed light on the important role of Indigenous communities, create awareness about the issues that Indigenous Peoples face and highlight the vital role of youth entrepreneurship for economic growth and preserving the planet.
It was moderated by, Indridewi Sukagunas - the Senior Solution Sales of Treasury & Trade Solutions (TTS) at Citi Indonesia, a business unit of Citi’s Institutional Clients Group (ICG). Speakers joining were Youth Co:Lab entrepreneurs working on uplifting #indigenous communities Daniel Teoh, Native Discovery, Malaysia; Laressa Amaly, Suri The Goods, Indonesia and Subodh Chowdhry, Spiral Farm House Nepal - Biodynamic farm, Nepal.
They discussed disproportionately higher barriers (including socio-cultural, financial, legal, economic, and institutional) faced by indigenous people across Asia and the Pacific, shared stories of young indigenous social entrepreneurs and how they are overcoming challenges to serve as positive role models for young people in the region and highlighted lessons learnt the from Asia-Pacific experience on strategies and interventions that can address barriers to make entrepreneurship ecosystems more inclusive for indigenous peoples.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Co-created in 2017 by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Citi Foundation, Youth Co:Lab aims to establish a common agenda for countries in the Asia-Pacific region to empower and invest in youth so that they can accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through leadership, social innovation and entrepreneurship. Read more about Youth Co:Lab here.