The district panchayat is all set to roll out an entrepreneurial promotion campaign christened ‘District Entrepreneurship Corridor (DEC)’ for identifying potential entrepreneurs, introducing them to various entrepreneurial initiatives and supporting schemes before handholding them to set up their own units.
The project will kick-start with a one-day workshop for potential entrepreneurs from Alangad block at UC College, Aluva. Minister for Law and Industries P. Rajeeve will inaugurate the workshop, which will be the first of similar workshops to be held across all 14 block panchayats within the district panchayat. The idea behind these workshops is to create awareness among prospective entrepreneurs and give proper guidance to them.
“We have made an initial allocation of ₹50 lakh for entrepreneurship promotion under the scheme. The assistance will be further expanded depending on the response to the programme. Group initiatives by two or more persons will be eligible for assistance. The project is in tune with the State government’s goal of setting up one lakh initiatives this year,” said Ullas Thomas, district panchayat president.
The maiden workshop will focus on the potential of enterprises based on agriculture and allied services considering that Alangad block is largely agrarian. It will feature three technical sessions, including those based on value-added initiatives related to banana, jackfruit, and tapioca, and feasible small and medium enterprises.
The focus will be on creating entrepreneurial orientation for potential beneficiaries and introduce them to various schemes offered by different departments. Banks will also provide information of their loan schemes for small and medium enterprises.
“The first phase of DEC is to identify prospective entrepreneurs through the 14 workshops, create the right orientation and handholding them to start enterprises by helping them avail assistance under various schemes of local bodies and departments. We will not stop with that but continue to extend support to them by constantly evaluating their performance. Entrepreneurial initiatives compatible with each region will be introduced to participants during the workshops,” said District Industries Manager S. Sheeba.
District Collector Renu Raj will deliver the keynote address at the workshop.
