Have an Awesome Business Idea? Get the Backing From BYST

You have an awesome startup idea, and pretty confident that it will work.  The next step will be to decide what to do to make the startup idea a reality. The help is here – Bharatiya Yuva Shakti Trust (BYST). BYST was officially launched in 1992 by HRH Prince Charles.

What does exactly BYST do?

BYST is keen on working with young people in the age group of 18 – 35, who are either unemployed or underemployed.  They take on applicants without asking for ‘Financial Down Payments or Collaterals’. The trust provides them with the all important seed capital as loan, which they can use alone or in conjunction with financing from banks and other financial institutions. The loan is provided at the special interest rate offered to small businesses, by banks.

The most remarkable feature of the Trust is that it provides each client with a Mentor on a one-to-one basis. The Mentor gives personalized advice, maintains regular contact with the business, monitors progress, and helps in solving problems and in developing business.

What is the reach of BYST?

BYST has expanded its operations to six major regions of India. Out of these six regions four of them (Delhi, Chennai, Pune and Hyderabad) run the urban programme while two regions run the rural programme (Rural Haryana and Rural Maharashtra). The contact details can be found here.

Am I eligible?

According to the website, if you satisfy the below – consider yourself eligible.

• Youth in age group of 18-35 years
• Youth with viable business idea
• Resident of Delhi, Haryana, Chennai, Kancheepuram, Hyderabad, Pune and near by rural areas,  Purandar Taluka, Haveli Taluka, Shirval Taluka, Baramati Taluka, Daund Taluka
• Business should be either Manufacturing or Service. Trading Business not encouraged

By sending an email to the respective center head, they will contact you and take it forward from there. Minimum loan amount grant is Rs 1 lakh and maximum is Rs 50 lakhs.

What is the extra benefit by associating with BYST?

Unarguably, the mentor support you get. Throughout the life cycle, a mentor will guide you from business idea to implementation. And association with an established organization like BYST will definitely make the loan process simpler.  Your mentoring style will depend on which area you would belong to.

• One – to – one mentoring, comprises a mentor and entrepreneur team. If the Mentor so wishes, s/he may be assigned more than one entrepreneur. This model is followed in urban programmes at Delhi, Chennai, Urban Pune & Hyderabad.
• Mobile Mentor Clinics consists of a group of experts in various fields such as Accounts, Marketing etc., who jointly mentor the entrepreneurs once a month and assist them in working out their business problems. Such a model is practiced in the rural settings (Faridabad-Haryana and Hadapsar-Maharashtra) where long distances make the one to one mentoring model difficult.

How can I help as a mentor?

If you are a professional with experience in business and a willingness to contribute back to the society, all you need is 2 hours a  month. Each new mentor is given one senior mentor as a buddy mentor, who helps him to learn more on mentoring. A mentor online training course is also available to train the new mentors.