Dharamshala: On 2 April 2019, The Tibet Innovations in collaboration with Tibetan Entrepreneurship Development (TED), Department of Finance, CTA and Tibet House Trust, London announced the launch of ‘Youth Employment for Tibetans Initiative’ (YETI) Grand Challenge 2019-a major initiative aimed at creating employment for Tibetan youths living in the Tibetan settlements across India.
Around 43 business enterprises in Tibetan exile submitted their proposals for the grand prize of Rs 1 Crore (10 million rupees or approx. $142,780 USD). The contestants went through a rigorous, multi-step selection process. The team of YETI grand challenge did the selection of the first round while the second round of selection was done by the panel of external experts and they announced selected 10 candidates for the final round.
The third round of selection finally selected Padma Jewels from Dekyiling Tibetan settlement, Dehradun as the winner of the YETI Grand Challenge 2019.
The Padma Jewel claimed the 1 crore investment during a press release today in Dharamshala. CTA President Dr. Lobsang Sangay along with Finance Kalon Karma Yeshi and Thubten Samdup, Director, Tibet Innovations presented the grand prize to the winner Kalden Choephel and his partner Ngawang Tsultrim.
Addressing the press conference, Director Thubten Samdup of YETI explained that the project was conceived in 2009 during His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s visit to Montreal, Canada where he expressed his concerns over the outflow of young Tibetans from Tibetan settlement and the adverse effects it was posing on the culture and viability of these vulnerable communities. The members of the visit planning committee then decided to invest the funds raised in a project that would be based on the settlement, creating well-paying employment for young Tibetans and also to provide financial support to the new Tibetan entrepreneurs who wish to develop a sustainable business that would enhance the viability of the Tibetans settlements.
President Dr. Lobsang Sangay asserted that the economic self-reliance of the Tibetan community is one of the main objectives of CTA as he highly appreciated the effort and dedication of Thubten Samdup for actualising the wishes of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
“Its high time we Tibetans have to become self-supporting,” said President Sangay. He further called out Tibetans to build each other up given the opportunity and resources to do so.
“When you help build each other, the success increases multifold,” President Sangay remarked.
Padma Jewels is a beads manufacturing company founded by Kalden Choephel and his business partner Ngawang Tsultrim that specialises in designing, marketing and ethically manufacturing high-end lampwork glass jewelry and handicraft items. They claimed to be one of the leading suppliers of handmade glass beads in Europe and America. Currently, they employ 32 full-time Tibetan youth between the ages of 22-50 years.
