Vestige becomes industry pioneer to support a project on formal direct selling education

New Delhi: Vestige Marketing Ltd, India’s leading home-grown direct selling company, announced its collaboration with Shoolini University, a top-ranked university based in Himachal Pradesh. A dynamic and innovation-led centre of learning, Shoolini University was established in 2009 by leading academicians and professionals. It is a not-for-profit multi-disciplinary private university with a unique research and innovation-led model, and offers a range of undergraduate, post-graduate and doctorate programmes. It has consistently been ranked among India’s top universities as per MHRD NIRF, and it is one of India’s highest generators of patents and innovation that matches the world’s best universities in research output.

The association of these two esteemed organisations comes in the shape of a pilot project to offer a formal course on direct selling, aimed at empowering young minds with the knowledge of the fast-growing industry. The formalising of direct selling course will create opportunities for learning and self-employment for the youth, while introducing them to the industry.

The company, which has an extensive network of millions of distributors across the country and a global footprint in multiple countries, realises the growing spirit of entrepreneurship among India’s youth and the impending need for skill development. Vestige firmly focusses on the growth and development of the industry and has come up with an offering to address the pressing need of formalising direct selling as a subject of choice to create income opportunities for the country. This initiative will bring uniformity in regulatory practices in the industry and create livelihood opportunities, especially in tier- II and tier-III cities and towns.

“The booming youth population is one of the most invaluable resources of India, and training, skilling and setting them on the path to financial freedom can unlock miraculous potential for the national economy. Our focus on formalising the direct selling industry and bringing it into the mainstream education has led to the collaboration with the renowned Shoolini University. While we are proud to be a part of such a collaboration, we are also hopeful that this initiative will help in skill development and enabling entrepreneurship, which will create a sustainable income path for many and benefit the industry as a whole,” Gautam Bali, Managing Director, Vestige Marketing Pvt. Ltd., expressed.

Putting the impetus on the need to skill the youth for national growth, Dr. Kamal Kant Vashisth, Director- Centre of Excellence for Direct Selling in Academics, Shoolini University added, “While India has one of the largest eligible working populations in the world, it is yet to cover the employment gap. We are glad to partner with Vestige, which has always been supportive towards this initiative. Together, we hope to formally educate, skill and train our youth to become the next generation of micro-entrepreneurs.”

With the coronavirus pandemic severely testing the direct selling industry, it has been acknowledged as an alternative and primary source of livelihood for millions who lost their jobs and created an opportunity for people to regain their lost financial independence. It has opened the doors to people across age groups and gender, and emerged as a sustainable career prospect.

The direct selling sector holds promise for the youth as it effectively promotes entrepreneurship and self-employment for them without depending on the uncertainty of the job market. It holds multiple benefits for the economy by tackling India’s growing unemployment, empowering women, skilling people and offering income opportunities.