People

Sikh-Canadian Teenager (M)apps Out Microfinancing Application For Poor

NEWS REPORT

Seventeen-year-olds may listen to ‘Nirvana’ and watch the ‘Game of Thrones‘, but they are also the game-changers of the future.

One such teenager is Gurujot Singh, who is based in Brampton, Ontario, Canada. Born and raised in Canada, he is concerned about the poverty and backwardness in present-day India, and has therefore conceptualised an app to help provide financial aid to the country’s hundreds of millions of poor who seem to have been abandoned by their own government.

His creation earned the Canadian youngster a spot at the J7 Youth Summit in Germany earlier this year, in which youths aged 14-18 from various G7 countries met other delegates. The youth summit is designed to mirror the meeting of heads of state of G7 countries.

Gurujot also met German Chancellor Angela Merkel along with five other North Park Secondary School students.

He explains: "The idea behind my application is to allow people in developed countries to offer microloans to people in developing countries. In these countries, people may not be eligible for a loan from their bank or local moneylender due to reasons such as geographic underdevelopment or gender inequality.

“The issue today is that even if the banks or moneylenders are willing to lend you money, it will be at unrealistic and un-payable rates. By using this application and posting your ads online, it allows people from all around the world to see what/ how much you need and offer at competitive interest rates."

Gurujot credits much of his success to his school.

"My teachers, Paul Brown and Miriam Mirza, encouraged me to join the Social Justice Club at my school. On joining the club I got countless opportunities ... They inspired me to be more involved and to think beyond my own horizons. I attribute my ideas and success to them."


[Courtesy: based on report by TNN. Edited for sikhchic.com]
December 7, 2015
 

read other articles in People