Project Name: Orange Corners Bangladesh
Duration: 3 years
Funded by: The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Summary: The Orange Corners programme took a 360-degree approach to ecosystem building by engaging key stakeholders in government, private sectors, educational and financial institutions, investment networks, youth organizations, local incubators, accelerators, etc. The Parties thereto exclusively collaborated with each other to access the vast youth network across Bangladesh, a pool of expert business leaders and facilitators, a network of angel and private investors, availability of co-working spaces, business support services, and venture fund capital, and more for the purpose of delivering the project titled “Orange Corners”, funded by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Bangladesh.
The overall objective of this program was to create opportunities for entrepreneurship and employability for Bangladeshi youth, so they could shape their own future through increased awareness of and expertise in entrepreneurship, development of soft skills and technical skills, and increased access to finance in order to contribute to a prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive society. The specific objectives of this action were: (1) Bangladeshi youth participated in solving local challenges; (2) increased employment and entrepreneurship opportunities for Bangladeshi youth; (3) increased access to finance for Bangladeshi youth; (4) the private sector actively supported youth entrepreneurship and employment; and (5) ensuring gender equity within the program activities.
The target group was Bangladeshi university graduates and young professionals aged between 18 to 35 years, of which 50% were female, who had an affinity with active citizenship and entrepreneurship and were passionate about solving social problems with innovative solutions. The estimated direct beneficiaries of the project were at least 1,650 youths. This included participants of the hackathon events (at least 360 youth), student ambassadors (60 students), youth participants from the Student Ambassador Program and PowHER Program (at least 750 youth), bootcamp participants (at least 300 youths), and incubation program participants (at least 180 youth). Moreover, indirect beneficiaries were estimated to be at least 16,000 youth who were engaged through different online and offline events, programs, and activation campaigns.
Programs: Founder Stories (StartupTalks and PowHer), Information Session, Orange Corners Ideation Challenge, Post Incubation Masterclass/Accelerating Training Session
