Itanagar, October 29 (MExN): The fifth edition of Young Leaders Connect (YLC) concluded at Itanagar on Saturday with a friendly football match between Arunachal Pradesh CM XI and YLC XI at Naharlagun. YLC is an annual conclave where leaders from diverse fields like business, politics, academia etc come together, put their heads and hearts together to plan where they would like to see India vis-à-vis North East in the future, plan a road map and strategize o interventions at the grassroots and policy level Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu led the CM XI team while YLC XI was captained by iconic Indian footballer and Chairperson of YLC, Bhaichung Bhutia. The thrilling encounter ended with a 2-2 draw in the scheduled time. However, CM XI won the match in the penalty shootout, a press release informed. Highlights of the day included sharing of success stories by three successful entrepreneurs from the region. One of the three included Bejorn DeNiese, Director of the popular Mayfair Hotel and Resorts in Sikkim. “This hotel was started as a dhaba in Sikkim. Now, it has become the most expensive hotel in Sikkim,” DeNiese said. With room rates ranging from Rs. 16,000 to Rs. 1 lakh per night, the Director called the extravagant rates “a business strategy” stating that “it makes people curious”. The winner of the much anticipated competition “The Entrepreneur” was also announced on the second day. Rewaz Chetri, a 22 year old entrepreneur from Sikkim won the award for his startup ‘North East Taxi’ and was rewarded with a cheque of Rs 5 lakhs. “Initially, I tried to arrange for tour guides for the tourists. However, after doing some market research, I realised that in North East, we don’t need tour guides as the drivers only do their job... I had started with 3 taxis but now I have 300 taxis at my service,” Chetri stated. Earlier, the fifth edition of the YLC kicked off on Friday with Union Ministers of State, Rajib Pratap Rudy, and Kiren Rijiju in attendance. Various sessions on ‘Entrepreneurship’ and ‘Skill building’ in the region were taken up during the day. Rudy informed that the Central Government is already looking at North East as a “potential hub of skilled manpower”. “In the coming days, steps will be taken to harness these resources to their optimum potential,” he assured.
