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Slums are seen near high-rise commercial buildings in Mumbai, India on April 14. Noemi Cassanelli/CNN

More than 40% of India’s 1.4 billion people are under the age of 25: a tech-savvy and predominantly English-speaking workforce. Like millions of migrants, many are drawn to Mumbai, the country’s financial capital, full of aspirations and ambitions. And it’s stories like these that inspire them.

Javed Khatri poses for a photo during an interview with CNN in Mumbai on April 16.
Javed Khatri poses for a photo during an interview with CNN in Mumbai on April 16. Noemi Cassanelli/CNN

The technology developer: Growing up in the slums of Mumbai, Javed Khatri never used a smartphone or computer.

“In the area where I lived, one of the best things you could think of was finishing grade 10 and then working in a call center, selling vegetables, working in a garage or doing odd jobs. “, says Khatri, now 30. “That was our biggest ambition.”

But unlike many slum kids, he finished tenth grade – the first person in four generations of his family to do so – and then studied computer science at an engineering college.

He is currently building an online platform to connect tech companies with engineers. He brought his family out of the slums and supports his parents. Both of his siblings went to college and pursued careers of their own.

None of this would have been possible a generation ago, he says.

Apoorva Mukhija poses for a photo at her apartment in Mumbai on April 13.
Apoorva Mukhija poses for a photo at her apartment in Mumbai on April 13. Noemi Cassanelli/CNN

The influencer: Apoorva Mukhija didn’t plan to become a content creator. After graduating, she took a job with a technology company in Bangalore, the southern city known as “India’s Silicon Valley.”

“Then one day I woke up and realized that… (my job) just wasn’t paid as well as the content, and I hated living in this city,” said Mukhija, 22. , to CNN from a pastel pink couch in her new studio. apartment in Mumbai, which she says is the “city of her dreams”.

Her career flourished, gaining recognition from local media and amassing 1.3 million followers on Instagram.

The Internet offers a plethora of opportunities to young Indians. The country’s influencer marketing industry is expected to be worth more than $281 million in 2024, according to consultancy EY India. Smartphones and social networks are fueling this growth.

Jameel Shah poses for a photo in Mumbai on April 14.
Jameel Shah poses for a photo in Mumbai on April 14. Noemi Cassanelli/CNN

The shoemaker : At 13, Jameel Shah ran away from his village in Bihar, India’s poorest state, where his father did not earn enough money from farming to send his children to school .

In Mumbai, he saw an opportunity in the expensive imported dance shoes needed for dance classes.

He took two samples back to the narrow lanes of Dharavi, a hub of leather and textile manufacturers. With their expertise and his own experience working in bag and wallet factories, Shah began experimenting.

The business grew, attracting stylists and choreographers who redistributed the shoes to dance studios. And they even made it to the big screen.

Nearly two decades later, Shah Shoes has helped support his family. He bought a house for his parents and opened an educational center in his native village to teach literacy to those who could not afford school.

A key tool has been the rise of social media, particularly Facebook, which has helped him find customers – something Shah attributed to Prime Minister Modi’s efforts for a “digital India”.

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