Forced entrepreneurship as a panacea

On the 50th anniversary of the World Earth Day on April 22 this year, the World Health Organisation Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, "Covid-19 is reminding us of a simple but vital truth: we are one species, sharing one planet."

Absolutely right. Six weeks later, however, as the first phase of unlocking took place in India, after the initial euphoria, the Indian public, especially the employed youngsters realised that their careers were more insecure than ever.

Layoffs, part-salaries, deferred salaries, fixed payouts all have become par for the course. The pandemic has re-oriented virtually everything which was normal in the BC (Before Covid) era from education to entertainment to time-out sessions with near and dear. It has also made young students think about sunrise sectors for education and subsequent future opportunities.

For those who are looking at stable financial streams and revenue models, the jolt in the employment market wherever they are placed has made them look at alternatives. An entrepreneurship professor at the University of San Francisco coined this phenomenon "forced entrepreneurship." It's what you do when you can't find a job and you have to pay the bills, to put it in layman terms.

Spotting an opportunity while the rest of the world sees it as a threat is pure indigenous talent. Indians have it in ample measure, as they have often proved it during crisis and eleventh-hour emergencies in their lives. So when jobs are at stake, we find ways to retain them with a trade-off like working from home, working longer. If one needs to take up a new life, devoid of the employment restrictions, then India seems to be coming up with ideas, working from the retail level to scaling up one's business plans to achieve a certain perch and traction.

Re-skilling oneself with online courses in IT and allied sectors, increasing the indigenous component in trading and manufacturing for the micro entrepreneur, empowering the lesser privileged with techno tools and techniques to make them battle-ready are already trends which are discussed and widely reported upon in the media.

For all those in their late teens and early 20's and who have seen the dreadful impact of a lockdown and gradual unlocking, it is more than a reality check to apprise their methods of working and delivering quality outputs, be it in the education field or in the beginning of their careers. Here is where, a shot at entrepreneurship, where one becomes a provider of jobs than a seeker will become vital.