KB News Desk
Jin Yu-ha, co-founder and CEO of Tella, an online chat-based English learning platform, said she is committed to enriching youth social entrepreneurship, Friday.
Her business was showcased as exemplary youth entrepreneurship at the Regional Youth Co:Lab Summit 2024 held in Manilla, the Philippines, from June 27 to 28.
“I was glad to hear my edu-tech startup launched to create job opportunities for a highly educated workforce in Uganda was an inspiration to the over 200 participants from 20 countries at the summit,” she said.
The Regional Youth Co:Lab programme was co-created in the Asia-Pacific region in 2017 by Citi Foundation and the United Nations Development Programme, a U.N. organization established to end poverty, inequality and climate change with a network of experts and partners in 170 countries.
“Tella is not only bridging language gaps but also creating more than 300 knowledge-based job opportunities for university-educated youths in developing countries, including the Philippines and Uganda,” she said.
Tella connects English learners all over the world with native English tutors in Southeast Asia and Africa. The platform exceeds 100,000 users across 60 countries.
The firm achieved B corp certification conferred by B Lab in 2019, in recognition of its social and environmental commitments. It certifies that a business is meeting high standards of verified performance, accountability and transparency on factors from employee benefits and charitable giving to supply chain practices and input materials.
“I had my fair share of difficulties over the last few years. What I came to understand was that young entrepreneurs should be very well aware of technological advancements to succeed and diversify their business portfolio to manage future risks,” she said.
The critical role of young entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds is and should be all the more celebrated, in her view, to drive sustainable and equitable economic development and to advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals.
“Leading a business in and of itself is hard enough,” she said. “Fostering knowledge and idea sharing underpinned by networking and collaboration with young entrepreneurs was an opportunity to engage more youth to take action and advocate for collaborative initiatives and policies.”
She plans to expand her business to match young, talented IT industry workers in developing countries with employers in advanced economies.
“My firm’s years of experience in the rigorous screening of jobseekers and high-quality services, as verified by end-users, can help the efficient operation of the global IT workforce,” she said.
