Dial for Youth Employment (D4YE)

D4YE is a youth-led mobile application connecting semi-skilled, skilled, and experienced professionals with users seeking specific services.

The pressing issues for a growing economy like India are the lack of market-aligned skills and low-quality, undignified jobs. This is particularly evident in Bhubaneswar, the capital city of the state of Odisha. The sudden influx of reverse migration trends, caused by the impact of the global pandemic, has only exacerbated these problems. Despite India's demographic dividend, the country is unable to fully leverage it due to an under-skilled youth population. This poses a significant challenge for India, as the country's future economic growth and development depend heavily on the skills and productivity of its youth. The current reverse migration patterns, particularly in Bhubaneswar, call for a solution that can provide momentum for rebuilding skills, jobs, and livelihoods among people in urban slums and rural villages. This is essential for addressing the issues of poverty and unemployment, which are prevalent in both urban and rural areas in India and have been further exacerbated by the pandemic. The solution should not only focus on providing training and education for the youth, but also on creating job opportunities and improving the overall quality of life for all citizens.

The proposed solution is to start a youth-led social enterprise that will launch a mobile-based application, Dial for Youth Employment (D4YE). This application will allow both semi-skilled, skilled, and experienced professionals to connect with users looking for specific services.

• To provide certified market-aligned skills to needy youth by engaging Skill Universities and Industrial Technical Institutions
• To establish a youth-led social enterprise service company for generating employment, training, placement, and other services to underprivileged and needy youth
• To develop a digital mobile app to connect service providers and the market by providing customized skill services at the doorstep of clients

The youth labor force in India, particularly in the state of Odisha, possesses a low level of education and a lack of basic skills. This is a hindrance to overall economic development in this sector. The urban slums of Bhubaneswar, in particular, are home to families who migrated here from other parts of the state in search of work and joined the unorganized sector as daily laborers, construction workers, cooks, brick workers, etc. Despite obtaining certificates, many youths are left without suitable employment, becoming a negative example in communities already averse to investing in education for their children. The lack of entrepreneurial ability, initiative, and intent has led to a shrinking of job opportunities in the unorganized sector.

The proposed solution aims to address these issues by providing multiple solutions. The service industry, in Bhubaneswar, especially for housekeeping services, is a huge market. Services like caretakers for the elderly, electrical and plumbing services, A.C. repair, pest control, trained cooks and maids, cleaning services, solar mechanics, TV repair, and gardening are in high demand. However, there is a missing connection between clients and service providers. The project will establish a strong connection between needy clients and trained service providers to create business and employment opportunities for the youth in the skill sector.

At the same time, the consortium partners have identified segments of the youth population in urban slums who are passionate about starting something on their own and providing multiple benefits to society by serving as entrepreneurs. But they lack the necessary skills, guidance, and financial inclusion aspects that act as deterrents to starting their own enterprises. In this context, the proposed intervention is imperative in creating a responsive incubation network to ensure the growth of technology-driven enterprises.

The partnership approach that TEAM VIEWS and Aakar Innovation have taken to address the problem is a well-structured and effective approach. Both organizations have come together with clearly defined goals and objectives and have a shared vision to make a positive impact on the community.

The TEAM VIEWS has done a lot of groundwork in understanding and defining the problem and has conducted a series of discussions with community members in urban slums and also in rural areas. Through these interactions, the team has gained a clear understanding of the demand side of the problem and has been able to identify the specific needs and challenges faced by the community. The Aakar Innovation, with its experience and expertise in working with communities, has provided valuable insights and perspectives to the team in their efforts to address the problem.

In order to address these issues, the team has also undertaken discussions to develop a prototype of a solution with user-friendly features that can be rolled out for testing and subsequent final implementation. The team has carefully considered the perspectives and feedback of the community members to ensure that the solution is tailored to their specific needs and is easily accessible and user-friendly for them. The team has also made sure that the prototype is in line with the current market trends and the technology available. The team is now ready to test the prototype and make any necessary adjustments before the final implementation. With the support and guidance of Aakar Innovation, the TEAM VIEWS team is confident that the prototype will be a valuable tool in addressing the problem and improving the lives of the community members.

The TEAM VIEWS team has done a comprehensive and thorough job in understanding and defining the problem at hand. The team members have made a significant effort to engage with the community members in urban slums and rural areas through a series of discussions and interviews. These interactions have provided valuable insights and perspectives to the team and have helped them to gain a clear understanding of the demand side of the problem.

The team has taken the time to listen to the community members, understand their needs and challenges, and gather information about the problem. Through these interactions, the team has been able to identify the specific issues that need to be addressed and the areas where the community members need support and assistance. They have also been able to get a sense of the community's expectations and aspirations, which has helped the team to develop a more effective and targeted solution.

Additionally, the team has also taken into consideration the socio-economic and cultural context of the community, which is an important aspect to understand the root cause of the problem. 

Overall, the TEAM VIEWS team has put in a lot of effort and dedication to understand the problem and the needs of the community, which is crucial to the development of an effective and meaningful solution.

The solution is innovative in that it uses a mobile application to connect newly skilled professionals from vulnerable and marginalized communities with users looking for specific services. The professionals listed on the platform will be verified and certified by competent agencies. "Dial Bhubaneswar" will become an all-in-one platform for professionals, from plumbers, electricians, and mechanics to cleaners, home nurses, and domestic helpers. The matchmaking algorithm in the application will identify professionals closest to the user's requirements at the requested time and date. The innovative aspect is transforming the informal sector into a formal social enterprise by establishing a company owned by disadvantaged youth who are skilled and employed as a result. It will encourage the unorganized sector for certification of existing skills, integrate with the formal labor market and open up options for upskilling and further vertical mobility. Multitasking in complementary areas will be promoted to enable sustainable livelihoods. The project will also promote inclusivity by including various disadvantaged groups, such as tribes and castes, and ensuring 50% female participation to reduce gender inequality (SDG5).

The goals for next year are to train 350 youths and successfully connect them to potential end users of the services. In the next five year, the consortium would like to scale up the initiative in India and subsequently move to South Asian economies. The target to train at least 3000 youths and connect them with potential services and help them carve their own niche for themselves.

The Kotlin programming language will be used for the development of the Android app. It is an open-source language with a growing developer community. The matchmaking algorithm will help identify professionals closest to the users. CRM and Google Maps will also play a role in identifying addresses and connecting with professionals. The focus will be on designing an elegant and user-friendly UI for the mobile app, as a user-friendly UI is key to attracting and retaining users. The process will involve testing and deploying the Android app. The Integrated Development Environment (IDE) will be used for overall app development as it supports Kotlin. This IDE fully supports Kotlin and can be integrated with Zoho CRM, Google Maps, and published on Google Play.

The solution plans to target around 350 youth(around 200 girls and 150 boys) in the urban slums of Bhubaneswar and adjoining rural areas.

The barriers that currently exist are lack of funding (finance) and inadequate technological support. The next five years the barriers would be how to remain technologically relevant and remain superior; as in a fast changing technological environment there is a constant fear of technology becoming obsolete and redundant. Thus the factor of redundancy needs to be taken care off.

VIEWS has worked and has been working with many local and international organizations since 2008, the year it was founded. Some prominent organizations are given below:

1. National Foundation of India
2. ICCO Cooperation, Netherlands 
3. Paul Hamlyn Foundation, UK
4. Stichting Actie Culcutta, Netherlands
5. SLCW, Switzerlands
6. Asia Initiatives, USA
7. KIREA, Canada
8. Azim Premji Foundation, India
9. Odisha Millets Mission, India
10. FRAUEN POWER Germany

The business model of D4YE revolves around connecting service providers with service seekers. D4YE is an online platform that allows people to find professionals to help them with daily services. These services can range from plumbing, electrician, home cleaning, beautician and other odd activities. The business model of D4YE is a way to change how professionals get employment and is paid quickly. The application will be available on Ssmartphones and it connects the specialists with the users. The organization intends to bridge the gap between service providers and service receivers. The automated matchmaking algorithm would be used. The business model of D4YE is as follows:

For plumbing, electrician work or home cleaning the company accepts the money from the app and then pays the hired help their dues. They cut a specific commission from the funds received. The app will use AI (Artificial Intelligence) for the data management. It helps them assess the users’ needs better.

Service Receiver End

• Through the app, users can go through a list of services depending on their requirements and choose the appropriate one.
• The business model of D4YE promotes the user to choose a particular service; they can select one package from a list of options. The choice is usually made on a budget of the user.
• Once the package is selected, the user chooses a date and time for the appointment.
• The application allows the users to check the service provider and his qualities. The presence can be guaranteed by visiting the profile of visitors.
• Payments are made by advance payments or COD (Cash On Delivery).
• The users rate and review the services.

• The app has a two-folded function – one for the user and one for the professional
• When a service is requested, the professionals in that area get a notification. They can either accept or deny.
• The business model of D4YE is designed in such a way that the professionals can analyze their work commitments and accept or deny the service request accordingly.
• If the request is accepted, the user and provider get notifications to confirm the booking.
• Improving our capabilities in the selection, onboarding, training, and certification of service professionals. Additionally, we also invested in areas like product procurement, technology, and financing.
• The business model of D4YE aims to achieve a more comfortable, faster, and more organized way to connect the n needs to the providers of these services. The app helps to reduce the middlemen concept.

The path to financial sustainability for D4YE would likely involve a combination of revenue streams. Some potential sources of revenue include:

1. Commission: D4YE can take a commission from each service transaction that takes place on their platform. This commission would be a percentage of the total cost of the service and could provide a steady stream of revenue for the company.

2. Advertising: D4YE could also generate revenue by selling advertising space on their platform. This could include sponsored listings or banner ads.

3. Premium services: D4YE could also offer premium services or features that users can purchase. For example, users could pay a monthly or annual fee to access additional features such as higher-rated service providers or priority booking.

4. Referral fees: Another way of generating revenue could be by offering referral fees to service providers who bring new customers to the platform.

5. Subscriptions: D4YE could also generate revenue by charging users a subscription fee to access the platform's services.

It's important to note that the path to financial sustainability will depend on a variety of factors, such as the size of the target market and the rate of customer acquisition. Additionally, D4YE will need to invest in areas like product development, technology, and marketing to continue growing their customer base and improving their platform.