PepsiCo commemorates International Youth Day with its empowering internship program 'Roshan Kal'

'Roshan Kal' aims to gain a positive impact on Pakistan's growth and development by providing youth with opportunities

PepsiCo Pakistan, the country’s most prominent snacks and beverages company, has introduced an inspiring youth empowerment initiative called 'Roshan Kal'.

Under the banner of Roshan Kal, PepsiCo Pakistan has brought together a powerful collaboration of organisations from diverse industries such as KFC, Hum Network, LCI, and Daraz to empower Pakistan’s youth.

To celebrate International Youth Day, PepsiCo Pakistan is reiterating the company’s commitment to boosting growth, empowering individuals, and providing opportunities for Pakistani youth.

It aims to see Pakistan as a nation where young individuals are provided with skills, knowledge, and opportunities to create a brighter future for themselves, and to ensure the growth and development of the nation.

The hybrid model internship program encourages equal and fair opportunities for all, in the hope of creating a future where these young adults can contribute significantly towards the prosperity and success of their communities and the nation.

The initiative is also ensuring diversity and inclusion of students from every corner of the country with 50% gender diversity in the program taking an holistic approach to aim youth with professional learning and career development.

Roshan Kal started with Pepsico’s biggest, diverse and bottling partners such as Servis, LCI, Daraz, Pakistan Beverages Limited, KFC, HUM Network and more.

PepsiCo Pakistan has also partnered with Rozee.pk the country’s premiere job site to create an online portal dedicated to Roshan Kal for applicants. The portal streamlined the application process and will go on to serve as a networking tool for the selected cohort once the internship ends.

Experts and mentors from different partner organisations collectively awarded merit-based internships to 1200 applicants. The selected interns are now working with partner organisations across Pakistan, learning practical professional skills from seasoned mentors.

Furqan Ahmed, CEO of PepsiCo, shared his thoughts about Roshan Kal:

PepsiCo is devoted to empowering the youth of Pakistan as they are the architects of our future. Roshan Kal leverages collaboration with 18 partner organisations to provide young adults the opportunity to acquire insights into diverse and complex industries, enabling them to develop unique and multi-faceted skills while cultivating leadership capabilities, critical thinking, and innovation required for the future-fit youth of Pakistan.

This is part of our larger commitment to youth development, in line with our long-standing partnership for the Amal Career-Prep Fellowship program with Amal Academy, which has been supported by the PepsiCo Foundation since 2018 and recently celebrated the graduation of 10,000 Amal Fellows.

The positive impact created is evinced through the 88% alumni who are now engaged in wide-ranging jobs and entrepreneurial ventures, with a significant women representation raising the bar on equity and diversity.

 

Sarah Hassan, the Senior HR Director at PepsiCo Pakistan added that Roshan Kal is the embodiment of the values that underscore PepsiCo’s global PepsiCo Positive sustainability agenda that includes community uplift and development.

It is a representation of PepsiCo’s resolution to initiatives that support and benefit the individuals and communities of Pakistan, much like other projects such as Millions of Meals, and IRM Smart Schools, Farm Day Care which work towards a more sustainable and inclusive future.

By implementing the shared vision of investing in the empowerment and uplifting of Pakistan’s youth, PepsiCo aims to build a community that is talented, skilled, and ready to take on the world.

Roshan Kal is not only a huge milestone for the organisation, but for Pakistan, leveraging its power through collaborations, to influence growth and opportunities for the youth that will extend far beyond this program.