Microsoft partners with SBI Foundation in India for skilling youth with disabilities

On the sidelines of the Future Decoded summit, Microsoft India announced a collaboration with SBI Foundation to create opportunities for youth living with disabilities in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector.

Launched in 2015, SBI Foundation is the CSR arm of State Bank of India, India’s leading public sector bank.

Through this collaboration, Microsoft and the SBI Foundation will equip youth living with disabilities with the technology and training needed to better prepare them for integration into the BFSI workforce.

The program will be driven in collaboration with various government organizations, industry skilling bodies, and non-profits and aims to upskill 500 youth for BFSI jobs in its first year.

The three-year program was launched by Jean-Philippe Courtois, Executive Vice President and President, Global Sales, Marketing and Operations, Microsoft and Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI at the event.

At the event, Courtois said that with over 26 million people living with disabilities in India, it’s essential that we find new ways to use technology to enable everyone to fully participate in the 21st-century economy.

The goal is also to advance cross-industry advocacy efforts to drive inclusion for and hiring of people living with disabilities. As part of this partnership, Microsoft and the SBI Foundation will also develop an Artificial Intelligence (AI) powered marketplace that will enable the BFSI industry to more easily connect to people living with disabilities for upskilling and employment opportunities.