New Delhi: As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav to commemorate 75 years of India’s independence, Ministry of Rural Development stated today that it provided Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan worth Rs. 8.60 crore to 2614 Self Help Group (SHG) entrepreneurs in a week. The loans were given for starting their micro-enterprises in their villages across 19 States under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme.
Prior to providing this Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan, SHG entrepreneurs were given initial training on entrepreneurship and detailed business plan of their proposed business were prepared.
During the celebration of Amrit Mahotsav, various activities organized under Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) in the week of 6th to 12th September, 2021.
The Ministry stated that these events focused towards creating awareness about the SVEP scheme and how it supports SHG members who want to start the micro-businesses in rural areas. In these events public representatives, government officials and community based organizations participated.
States which participated in this initiative were – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
During these events, SHG entrepreneurs shared their experiences and journey of starting their own enterprises in their villages, becoming entrepreneurs and various supports they received under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP). They also emphasized the strength of regular handholding to understand steps to do business and making it successful and also creating strong market linkages.
It may be mentioned that the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) is a sub – scheme under National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM) to promote enterprises in rural areas. SVEP aims to set-up an eco-system for enterprise development in a block. This consists of a cadre of Community Resource Persons-Enterprise Promotion (CRP-EP) who will provide business support services to entrepreneurs.
The scheme encompasses identifying business ideas, preparation of business plans, accessing loans and other supports like marketing, maintaining accounts & taking business decisions. Further, the eco-system also includes training and capacity building of entrepreneurs, seed capital for starting enterprises, marketing support for products and services etc. Besides, the Block Resource Centre (BRC), the single point solution for enterprise promotion is also developed as part of the eco-system.
– global bihari bureau
