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The iMerit team works in their offices in India

Creating job opportunities for underserved youth

Project overview

More young people are entering the workforce in India than ever before. Creating the next generation of jobs to meet the needs and aspirations of India’s youth is one of the biggest challenges facing the country today. This challenge is particularly difficult for low-income urban young people, who do not have access to meaningful educational opportunities yet are hungry for aspirational jobs.

Our investment in iMerit, a company that provides on-demand digital data services to leading internet companies in the world, fosters training and job opportunities for young people in India. Founded in 2012, iMerit was built on the belief that all people can become skilled professionals, regardless of their background. In fact, individuals who have faced adversity often bring a sophisticated level of creativity and resourcefulness to their work. The company harnesses this resilience to bring a diverse talent pool from underserved backgrounds into India’s digital workforce.

How it helps

Skills training continues to be a challenge in India. While both the government and industry recognize the need for improved training opportunities, this has not translated into better employment outcomes for the millions of unemployed young people in India. iMerit recruits and develops young adults — especially women, who comprise 56 percent of the company’s workforce — to deliver global technology services to leading internet companies.

We provide the human element in data innovation while creating positive social and economic change through employment in underserved communities. Our mission is to build an inclusive workforce comprised of motivated individuals from low-income areas and help them develop meaningful careers in the technology industry.

Radha Basu, CEO

Most of the company’s employees come from low-income households and have a high school education or less. iMerit trains and employs them to work in cutting-edge areas — such as computer vision and natural language processing — that serve as the foundation for artificial intelligence-powered self-driving cars and digital voice assistants. The company has even transformed one of its delivery hubs in a Kolkata low-income neighborhood into a center of excellence for computer vision, powering some of the world’s leading self-driving car algorithms. With the help of iMerit, young people are getting the opportunity to change their lives and serve as an inspiration to others in their communities and beyond.

Foundation Project Leads