The union territory of Jammu and Kashmir is witnessing a huge increase in the number of start-ups by the youth of the Kashmir Valley. The Jammu and Kashmir government says over 400 start-ups have been registered in the union territory in the last two years. e-commerce, horticulture, agriculture, the food industry and crafts are some of the Major sectors in which these start-ups have been started.
Unemployment remains one of the major concerns for the government of Jammu and Kashmir and various government departments in the Valley are pushing for the setting up of new start-ups by the local youth. The government calls it a success as hundreds of start-ups has been established in Kashmir not only promoting local business but also generating employment for hundreds of youngsters.
One of the most successful start-ups in the Kashmir region is Fast Beetle, a door-to-door delivery start-up with a motive to help the local artisans and craftsmen of the valley and connect them with the global audiences. Fast Beetle was founded by Abid Rashid and Sami Ullah in 2019 and since then it has risen exponentially. The company has around 110 employees working with them creating employment opportunities for many.
”Kashmir is a virgin valley, there is a scope for many start-ups to come up here. Having a virgin market means an opportunity. There are people who are trying to change the dynamics in Jammu and Kashmir. Start-ups are the main builders of any country or state, so having so many start-ups would generate employment and push us for growth. Our journey was tough, we bootstrapped it, but we saw there are people across the country who are willing to invest in start-ups in Jammu and Kashmir. We needed money for the growth, and we got that easily, ” said Abid Rashid, co-Founder Fast-Beetle.
Abid also added that the government needs to open a single window for entrepreneurs who are wanting to start a new venture. And the youth also need not only to depend on the government but also look for private investors as well. ”I think a start-up is building a company and it needs to grow at 10x speed. A start-up needs to have finances within the first four to five months so that it can grow. The process with the government is delayed and it takes time. I would request and suggest that there should be a single window or committee which can process it faster so that it won’t grow. I think youth need to look at the government for finances, but they have to also explore private investors. Getting private funding is easier and they should rely on both so that they can grow faster, ” said Abid Rashid, Co-Founder Fast-Beetle.
Another startup called Tiffin Aaw meaning ” Meal is here’ with a motive of serving home-cooked food to offices, colleges and hospitals was set up in 2019. It became extremely popular when the start-up started delivering free food to hospitals during covid. The covid patients, attendants and doctors were sent home-cooked food free of cost by Tiffin Aaw. The start-up later crowd-funded and generated huge support from people across the globe for their work. The founder Rayees Ahmad says the start-ups tackle the major Unemployment issue of Jammu and Kashmir in a big way. Tiffin Aaw has a dozen employees working with them.
”Kashmir has a lot of unemployment and to tackle the problem of unemployment, It’s very important to have many start-ups being started here. you don’t really need a lot of money to start a business. I started from my home kitchen and used to deliver myself. It’s a slow process and it grows with time. We eventually reach a stage where we provide employment to youngsters. Government has a lot of schemes for the youth, but it’s very time-consuming so I couldn’t really stop working and spending so much time with the government. There are many start-ups that need funding after 3-4 years also. The process takes 6 months to one year. That’s why we didn’t take any funding from the government, but if we had funding, I would have opened a bigger unit. The start-ups do tackle the problem of employment, I have around 12 youth working with me, ” said Rayees Ahmad, Founder, Tiffin Aaw.
The government of Jammu and Kashmir has been pushing for youngsters to start their own ventures in various sectors. According to the government, more than 400 start-ups have been registered with them and many of these have been extremely successful.