International Youth Day 2023
At only 26 years old, Jayanthan is already a visionary. His office by the Kalladi beach in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, is modest, but well organised. At first sight, it was evident the plans Jayanthan and his team had for the future were ambitious.
Though still a very green start-up, Jayanthan has a team of nearly 10 people, a sales and marketing division, an engineering team, an office administrator, and a finance officer – overkill one might think. A thought that would quickly pass when conversing with this young man. He has clear plans to expand his business into something quite ground-breaking and unique.
Jayanthan is graduating this year from Uva Wellassa University with a Bachelor’s in Mechatronics and has no real-world experience to speak of. But in the way he articulates his journey, his vision, and goals – it is difficult not to see a wizened go-getter, and a savvy businessman. His demeanour and attitude would reassure any prospective investor that he is worth banking on.
Through his innovative thinking and vision to build an enterprise that helps to better the lives of people in his community, Jayanthan and his team have designed a digital platform which will help hospitals and clinics in Batticaloa move towards a rapid digital transformation. The initial seed funding to get his hospital management system up and running was provided by UNDP (United Nations Development Programme) through Hatch in a collaborative project titled Social Connect, which identifies and supports young and innovative social entrepreneurs.
Idealism and social enterprise
Idealism is a virtue of youth, a virtue often tarnished by the harsh realities of modern living. The same can be said for the dreams of childhood. The young boy who dreamt of being an astronaut never reached the moon, the young girl who dreamt of being a ballerina never got to dance in Swan Lake. But ventures such as Social Connect, an initiative designed to support startups and SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprise) across Sri Lanka, are initiated so that at least a few dreamers can sneak through the great filters and bring their dreams to life, and make an impact on their community and society in the process.
Jayanthan’s journey is a perfect embodiment of UNDP’s youth development ethos of ‘leaving no youth behind.’
His passion for innovation began when he was only 13 years old. Since then, he has participated in many competitions and programmes; some of which were facilitated by UNDP and the Citra Social Innovation Lab, which have paved the way for him to win many accolades, attend engaging workshops, and has met many inspiring people who have provided mentorship and guidance.
“I first learnt about the idea of social enterprise in 2019 when I participated in the HackaDev Social Innovation Challenge”.
From the HackaDev Social Innovation Challenge to the incubation support received through the Economic Resilience Coaching Programme, Jayanthan’s ideas have been given life.
Jayanthan credits HackaDev for exposing him to the concept of social enterprise. A concept he now attaches to all his ventures. And in some sense is the founding ethos of his start-up.
His start-up and the community of hopeful entrepreneurs and innovators he has attracted and supports, all work with this mindset and the desire to uplift their community. It is quite motivating and inspiring to see such young people overcoming hurdles and obstacles to assist the people around them.
In 2022, Jayanthan and his team began an initiative to employ a single mother or a person with disability for a minimum period of one year. Currently a single mother; Wasanthi works with him in an upcycling venture he has under his fold. He goes on to explain, that a person with a disability will be joining his team in September this year, to support his software development work.
Why UNDP invests in young people
In Sri Lanka, young people make up a quarter of the population. Responding to the needs of this generation of young people cannot be overstated. At UNDP, we work on several fronts to support young people while recognising, promoting, and supporting the role of youth as critical and positive agents of change.
UNDP in Sri Lanka has many projects and programmes that facilitate young entrepreneurs, ranging from the Hackadev Innovation Challenges, Academy, and Incubator, while working together with many private sector partners for collaborative programmes such as the UNDP x Hatch Social Connect initiative, that helped address challenges stemming from Sri Lanka’s socio-economic crisis.
Jayanthan gives UNDP a lot of credit for where he is today. He received the initial funding for his start-up through Hackadev Social Innovation Challenge back in 2019. During the economic crisis, Jayanthan received incubation support through the HackaDev Economic Resilience Coaching Programme (2022-2023). Now, with the grant from Social Connect, his business is stable, sustainable and set to thrive.
He was quick to mention that his exposure to the programme was very timely. His business was barely functioning, his staff was working on a volunteer basis, and the projects he had undertaken were mismanaged and uncoordinated. However, after meeting the mentors and technical experts at Hatch through Social Connect, he was able to turn things around. All his staff are paid now, and his enterprise generates a monthly income of 200,000 rupees, which he says is sufficient to sustain operations for the time being.
The Maker Space at Hatch offers a great collaborative setting with a variety of machines to build prototypes and engage with other young innovators. Jayanthan, says the experience and mentorship provided by Hatch has allowed him to expand and focus his vision as a social entrepreneur.
The hospital management system
UNDP and Hatch through the Social Connect initiative, supports Jayanthan for his innovative Hospital Management System. The initial seed fund of 1 million rupees that was provided has been invested into developing the software platform, purchasing servers, maintenance, meeting clients and other administrative costs.
This platform will provide a homegrown solution to digitally transform health services in the Batticaloa District, helping to maintain a digital record of patients that can be accessed by doctors at any of the clinics or hospitals using the system.
“The digital transformation is inevitable, and we want to help our community adapt and embrace this. Our tool will make the process of documentation at hospitals more efficient and precise.”
Community driven as he is, Jayanthan is adamant that his product should serve all 320 local hospitals and clinics in Batticaloa. His goals for expansion in the coming years is solely focused on his home district. To enter the market, he is planning to provide 10 systems to Government hospitals for free. And from there, using the feedback and exposure obtained take his product to a subscription-based model.
Jayanthan and his team are also working on a mobile app, which he says is targeted at helping extremely rural communities who must travel over 30KMs for even a general check-up. A journey that often takes one or two hours on broken roads with hardly any buses, or other means of transport available.
Being young is an obstacle sometimes
As capable and sophisticated as he is, Jayanthan is young – in his words, this makes his vision extremely hard to achieve. Not because of anything else, but age-old Sri Lankan dogma.
According to Jayanthan, it is extremely hard to convince doctors, and stakeholders, even his parents to take his venture seriously, and for them to stop seeing him as a child with a simple dream.
“Bringing about change is hard.”
But Jayanthan is an enterprising person. With advice from his mentors, he has identified a few ways to overcome this challenge. From pursuing further studies and certifications programmes to further gain credibility, he is also in the process of planning collaborations and partnerships with stakeholders that other prospective clients will have to take seriously. In setting up these meetings and pitching his idea, Jayanthan is relentless. It is hard for anyone who meets him and talks to him to see him as a naïve child, they will only see the savvy and driven entrepreneur he is.
Building community and supporting each other
Apart from the Hospital Management System, Jayanthan and his team work on web development projects, an innovative biogas for domestic use project, futuristic marine research equipment and many other things.
Jayanthan’s experience and exposure to incubators such as Hatch and the HackaDev programme has led to much change in his hometown. He and his enterprise are at the heart of an emerging movement in Batticaloa. Many new start-ups are popping up and supporting each other in what is quickly becoming a vibrant community.
They have community threads on instant messaging apps and other social platforms, where he and other leaders in the innovator space share thoughts, ideas, jobs, and business opportunities. He also organizes learning sessions for up and coming, hopeful entrepreneurs and is ever eager to point them in the right direction.
Jayanthan is the epitome of a hardworking, young, social entrepreneur and a victory for UNDP’s youth development efforts from over the years. As we celebrate International Youth Day 2023, UNDP continues to strive towards creating inclusive, safe spaces, and opportunities, to boost youth participation in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
Jayanthan is one of the many young, promising and extremely talented young entrepreneurs who have been supported by UNDP’s extensive youth development programmes. Jayanthan, began his journey by participating in the HackaDev Social Innovation Challenge, from which he gained exposure and incubation for his first venture: Trash for Trade. Since then, he has been further supported by HackaDev Ambassador (2021-2022), the Economic Resilience Coaching Programme (2022-2023) and most recently through Social Connect (2022-2023).
