Idea 374 of 500. Cluster 18: Sri Lankans abroad, both directions
Second-generation internships at home, six weeks, arranged with firms that want the connection
The mechanism, from the book
1.5 million people abroad who know how rich countries work, and who send home money and little else.
Every idea in cluster 18 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Ask the managers of five firms at home whether they would host a second-generation intern for 6 weeks in return for a fee covering supervision, and what work they would give. Then offer those placements to 20 Sri Lankan families abroad through a youth group or a Saturday school. One firm's yes and one family's deposit is the proof.
- Who pays first
- Sri Lankan parents abroad who want their university-age child to work at home for a summer and will pay for a supervised, arranged placement.
- What leaves today
- The second generation's skills and future networks go entirely to their new countries; a paid internship builds their first working link to the island.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. EightWhat It Costs to Go First
What bonds sold to Sri Lankans abroad have and have not done - Ch. SixteenThe Bridge
The institutions that could carry value back
More from cluster 18
- 361A directory of Sri Lankans abroad: who does what, where, and what they will help with, verified
- 362Return-relocation services: the school, the house, the car, the tax, in one package
- 363Sri Lanka House in London, Melbourne and Toronto: a shop, a café and a desk, the Colombo model abroad
- 364Money-transfer products that buy a specific thing at home, a course, a machine, a roof, rather than cash
- 365Investment clubs of Sri Lankans abroad that own one business each at home, with a manager on the ground
- 366Import agencies in each city with a Sri Lankan community, stocking Sri Lankan brands and nothing else
Idea 374 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.