With an aim to give a fillip to the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector of Andhra Pradesh, the India SME Forum has signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the State government for two industrial parks and an incubation centre in the State. As part of this, an industrial park for multi-sectoral MSME units is being proposed to be set up either at Vijayawada or at Visakhapatnam or Tirupati.
The forum is also aiming to give a big push to women entrepreneurs of the region. “We have signed an MoU with the State government for an incubation centre for women entrepreneurs, aimed at giving them mentorship, access to finance under the Standup India initiative and help to create sustainable business models. A site at Kapuluppada has been identified for the incubation centre,” Sushma Morthania, co-founder and Director General, India SME Forum, told The Hindu . This apart, a Mahila Unnati Park for MSME units run by women entrepreneurs would also be coming up in Visakhapatnam.
“Since the incubation centre will take time to come up, we have taken on lease a 5,000 sq. ft. area at Tech Mahindra in Visakhapatnam under an MoU signed with AP Electronics and IT Agency (APEITA) for plug-and-play facilities to MSME units in manufacturing and services sector. This facility will be operational in a month’s time,” Ms. Morthania added. The APEITA is an autonomous society under the Government of Andhra Pradesh. As part of its initiatives to support women entrepreneurs, the AP chapter of India SME Forum has formed a women’s cell involving 12 women entrepreneurs.
Budget expectations
Hit by demonetisation, the MSME sector wants the government to come up with remedial measures in the budget. “The MSME segment, which has seen a considerable impact due to demonetisation is sure to be incentivised in this budget with steps for ensuring higher credit flow at lower interest rate apart from redefining and easing the tax framework with important changes in both indirect (GST) and direct taxes,” said venture investor Vinod Kumar, country manager and senior partner - India and Middle East, SDRC India Advisors.
