Youth unemployment in Bangladesh remains a critical challenge, driving economic loss, social instability, and widening gender and mental‑health disparities. Although many young people are educated, they often lack the skills needed to secure stable work in an economy dominated by informal, insecure, and low‑paid jobs.
Jewel Kumar
From December 2025 to February 2026, Commonwealth Alumnus Jewel Kumar Roy delivered a Business Blueprint Ideathon, a series of training sessions to strengthen university students’ entrepreneurial mindset and equip them with practical skills for the evolving labour market.
Jewel Roy is an Assistant Professor at Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University in Bangladesh. He is currently on study leave while pursuing his PhD at Széchenyi István University in Hungary, where he also serves as an Assistant Lecturer.
Bridging the youth employment gap in Bangladesh
Bangladesh faces a growing youth population alongside limited formal employment opportunities. This has resulted in many educated young people unable to secure suitable work due to a mismatch between their qualifications and labour‑market needs.
With most available jobs being informal, insecure, or low paid, young people struggle to build stable livelihoods. Entrepreneurship offers a vital pathway to economic empowerment, enabling youth to create their own opportunities and drive job generation as traditional sectors fail to absorb growing numbers of graduates.
To succeed, young people need practical entrepreneurial skills, including problem solving, financial literacy, and digital competence, to navigate a rapidly evolving labour market. To address this gap, Jewel delivered a three-phase training programme for graduate students. The programme combined practical learning, mentorship, and real-world business frameworks to equip participants with core entrepreneurial skills and opportunities to pitch ideas and receive feedback.
Three-phase training on entrepreneurship for students
Activity banner
Delivered in partnership with the Department of Business Studies at the State University of Bangladesh, the initiative engaged 150 students from diverse disciplines from the State University of Bangladesh and Jatiya Kabi Kazi Nazrul Islam University, alongside participants from other institutions in Dhaka and Mymensingh.
Launched on 27 December 2025, this phase introduced the entrepreneurial mindset. Sessions were delivered by Jewel and Dr Sandy Francis Peris and Nurjahan Akter Monira, both Assistant Professor, Department of Business Studies at the State University of Bangladesh. Students explored problem identification and creative thinking, before being split into teams for phase 2 of the training.
Phase 2 focused on strategy and business modelling. Guest speaker Dr Nurullah Bektaş, Founder and CEO of ZEVIZAR, shared global entrepreneurial insights, encouraging students to think globally while acting locally. The phase concluded with group mentoring, where participants refined their ideas and received expert guidance on their projects.
Participant pitching her business ideas
In February 2026, the final phase took place at the State University of Bangladesh. Opened by Nurjahan Akter Monira, guest speaker Abdullah Al Mamun delivered a workshop on effective pitching, before student teams presented their business ideas, ranging from sustainable fashion to legal tech and mental health solutions, to a panel of faculty judges from the Department of Business Studies.
The pitch event was attended by Professor Dr Md Akhter Hossain Khan, Vice Chancellor of State University of Bangladesh, and Professor Dr K M Anwarul Islam, Chairman of the Department of Business Studies. Their participation reinforced the value of entrepreneurship education and highlighted the vital role of university leadership in supporting student innovation.
The training programme concluded with an awards ceremony led by Professor Dr Md Akhter Hossain Khan, who presented certificates and prizes to the winning teams. This was followed by a networking session.
Activity impact
Jewel assessed the impact of the training programme at the end of each phase. Overall, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The programme received a satisfaction rating of 100%, with respondents reporting strong gains in entrepreneurial skills and confidence. Many shared that the training meaningfully shifted their perspectives on entrepreneurship.
As next steps, Jewel has initiated a structured follow-up plan to sustain engagement, including a WhatsApp group for ongoing networking and resource sharing. These efforts aim to maintain momentum, track the progress of student ideas, and observe whether any ventures move toward implementation or funding. He has received interest in an advanced workshop series and plans are underway to explore future sessions in partnership with local incubation hubs and industry stakeholders.
Jewel Kumar Roy is a 2020 Commonwealth Shared Scholar from Bangladesh. He completed his MSc in Financial Technology (FinTech) at the University of Stirling.
