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UNDP, SAP in India Empower Women and Youth Through Code Unnati

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Code Unnati, a flagship initiative by SAP in India, strives to deliver the company’s purpose of helping the world run better and improving people’s lives by enabling opportunities through best-run social enterprises and digital inclusion.

According to the India Skills Report 2021, which was conducted in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), women make up 36{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of the workforce in the country. This participation is higher than it has been in the previous five years, reflecting a positive sign for future structural economic developments.

Additionally, the study has found that the employability of India’s youth has decreased to 45.9{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22}, significantly lower than the analysis of youth employability in terms of overall employable youth in 2020. Despite this, the report noted that this percentage is a strong reflection of the average age group of India’s emerging professional landscape. 

Moreover, the report also looked at the patterns of men’s and women’s employability by region. The top three states with the highest percentage of employed women were Rajasthan, Telangana, and Karnataka.

Particularly in Karnataka, SAP Labs India and the UNDP have recently partnered with the State Government to facilitate improved access to career guidance, employment, entrepreneurship opportunities, and to foster 21st-century skills in a bid to empower women and youth in the state.

The India Skills Report 2021 has emphasised that the representation of Indian women in various industries is crucial when it comes to bridging the skills gap that has emerged as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, Nadia Rasheed, Deputy Resident Representative at UNDP India, said:

“The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened many existing inequalities. Empowering women and youth to access sustainable livelihood opportunities is critical to ensuring an inclusive and sustainable recovery. With the Government of Karnataka and SAP, we intend to leverage our collective strengths to expand opportunities for young people and women and to help make communities more resilient.”

SAP in India Fosters Digital Inclusion with CSR Initiative 

Code Unnati, a recipient of the Golden Peacock Award for Corporate Social Responsibility, collaborates with academia, state, and district government institutions, as well as non-profit and private organisations to build a sustainable impact. Since its launch in SAP Labs India four years ago, Code Unnati has so far trained more than 1 million students ages 10 to 16 years in digital literacy, with 65{aa282f308afcc222aaa21b0478c79e01a8fedd01972e2180867097bd93930f22} of these young participants being girls.

Over the next three years, Code Unnati is anticipated to reach over 20,000 youth and 5,000 women in Bangalore Rural, Raichur, and Dakshin Kannada districts through the following initiatives:

  • Giving opportunities for the youth to participate in design thinking seminars, innovation challenges, and boot camps by connecting them with government incubation centres
  • Providing digital financial education, entrepreneurial skills, and digital literacy for women and youth
  • Supporting women through community-level mentorship and handholding campaigns to help them establish or scale their micro-enterprises

Similarly, SAP India’s Global Bharat initiative also aims to enable businesses to digitally evolve themselves and upskill their workforce to equip them with today’s relevant skills. In partnership with the NASSCOM Foundation, the UNDP, and Pratham InfoTech Foundation, the program was launched in June 2020 to empower micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in India by providing them access to innovative sourcing solutions, as well as tools to enhance the workforce’s digital, financial, and soft skills.

Sindhu Gangadharan, Senior Vice President and Managing Director at SAP Labs India, said that technology has enabled everyone to stay connected, especially during the pandemic. She believes the demand for digital skills will rise and an abundance of entrepreneurial opportunities will emerge.

“Our mission of making the world run better and improving people’s lives well aligns with UNDP’s global goals. We are happy to see ourselves in the role of equipping women and youth in Karnataka to make them future-ready, and thus ensuring diversity and inclusion,” Gangadharan stressed.

Furthermore, SAP will directly lead the strategic mentorship for all of the Code Unnati initiatives in Karnataka. In the target districts, it will also provide 15,000 students with 21st-century skills training as well as Entrepreneurship Development Programs. 

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