Indian youth show strong entrepreneurial drive despite hurdles in funding and mentorship: Study

A new study has revealed that India’s university students are showing a strong entrepreneurial drive, with nearly 75% expressing a desire to start their own ventures.

However, the enthusiasm is tempered by challenges such as lack of mentorship, limited access to funding, and inadequate legal or financial guidance, all of which could slow the growth of India’s emerging start-up generation.

The report titled "Youth Entrepreneurship and Start-up Governance: Guiding the Next Generation of Leaders Towards Stability and Success" was released during the Leadership Summit organized by BML Munjal University (BMU).

The study gathered insights from 1,000 students across Indian universities and 200 industry leaders, including founders, CXOs, investors, and start-up ecosystem experts.

According to the findings, young Indians are reshaping the meaning of entrepreneurship by focusing on innovation built on ethics, responsibility, and sustainability.

While they aim to succeed commercially, they also seek to create ventures rooted in transparency and integrity.

The report found that 35% of students view lack of mentorship as the biggest hurdle to launching a business.

Another 24% pointed to gaps in legal and financial guidance, while 22% cited funding limitations.

Fear of failure, mentioned by 13% of respondents, and difficulty in balancing academics with entrepreneurial pursuits, noted by 7%, were also key concerns.

The study emphasized that governance, once seen as a compliance burden, is increasingly becoming a foundation for long-term business stability.

More than half of the industry professionals surveyed described governance as an enabler of success, while 33% identified it as the weakest area among youth-led start-ups.

Start-ups that adopted transparent systems, structured board reviews, and ethical frameworks received stronger investor confidence.

Transparency and social impact emerged as the top factors driving investor trust, followed closely by the credibility of founders.

Universities were identified as central to developing the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Nearly half of the students rated their institutions’ contribution to entrepreneurship as significant, while 89% supported including courses on ethics, governance, and financial accountability in academic programs.

However, only 9.6% found current incubation initiatives to be highly effective, pointing to the need for closer collaboration between academia and industry.

“As educators, it is our responsibility to nurture this mindset early so that ambition and accountability grow hand in hand,” said Jolly Masih, Chair of the Leadership Summit.

The report concludes that India’s youth are ready to lead the next wave of entrepreneurial growth if provided with the right mentorship, governance, and support systems.

It highlights a shift from chasing rapid expansion to building ventures anchored in discipline, ethics, and long-term sustainability.