PROPOSAL-ENTREPRENEUR NURTURING CENTRE (ENC)

Introduction:
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector is estimated to account for
45% of the manufacturing output and 40% of total exports of the country, in terms of
value. It is well known that MSME sector provides maximum opportunities for both selfemployment and jobs, outside agriculture sector. With the slowdown in economic
progress in India, more such MSMEs are needed to keep the economy moving and
provide an income base to the burgeoning population of India. In this regard, the two
main tools that will be needed by the entrepreneurs who are willing to establish their own
businesses are skills and business acumen.

Although the Ministry of MSME (M/o

MSME) has taken a lot of policy initiatives in the recent years to make the sector a
significant player in the global marketplace, growth in this sector have been slow.
Observing this, Webcon Consulting (India) Ltd. (Webcon) had approached the ministry
to initiate a pilot project called Entrepreneur Nurturing Centre (ENC) which will be a
unique tool to help set up such MSME businesses. This note has been prepared to
present the vision and approach of ENC.

Policy Initiatives by M/o MSME:

Skill and Entrepreneurship Development (SDP and EDP) Training: M/o MSME has
set up three National level Entrepreneurship Development Institutes namely, The
National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD),
Noida, National Institute for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (NI-MSME),
Hyderabad, and Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), Guwahati, to undertake the
task of EDP and SDP on a regular basis. In addition to this, existing 18 Tool Rooms and
Technology Development Centres (TDCs) also impart high tech training in conventional
manufacturing, CAD/CAM, tool design, CNC, mechatronic, etc.
Business Creation: The Ministry has been running a scheme called Prime Ministers
Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) since 2008-09 which supports viable
projects in the micro sector by providing margin money to entrepreneurs in rural and
urban areas. Further, the Ministry has launched a scheme called Rajiv Gandhi Udyami

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Mitra Yojana (RGUMY)- a scheme for promotion and handholding of micro and small
enterprises. An Udyami Helpline (a Call Centre for MSMEs) with a toll free No. 1800180-6763 has been functioning, set up under the Scheme, to provide information,
support, guidance and assistance to first generation entrepreneurs as well as other
existing entrepreneurs.
National Small Industries Corporation Ltd. (NSIC): This is another endeavor of the
M/o MSME, a government enterprise working to fulfill its mission of promoting, aiding
and fostering the growth of small industries and industry related micro, small and
medium enterprises in the country. NSIC operates through countrywide network of
offices and Technical Centres in the country and carries forward its mission to assist
small enterprises with a set of specially tailored schemes designed to put them in a
competitive and advantageous position. The schemes comprise of facilitating marketing
support, credit support, technology support and other support services.
District Industries Centre (DIC) and MSME Development Institute (MSME-DI): The
DICs under State Governments and MSME-DIs of M/o MSME are the two primary
agencies which provide facilitation to the new and existing entrepreneurs in developing
their enterprises.
M/o MSME envision a vibrant MSME sector by promoting growth and development of
the MSME Sector, including Khadi, Village and Coir Industries , in cooperation with
concerned Ministries/Departments, State Governments and other Stakeholders, through
providing support to existing enterprises and encouraging creation of new enterprises.
However, the sector is suffering from quite a few impediments, which need to be
addressed immediately. Resurgence is needed for the various initiatives undertaken by
the ministry to spearhead a meteoric growth in MSME enterprises.

Skilling Plus Plus:

Entrepreneurship has been considered as the backbone of economic development. The
myth that entrepreneurs are born, no more holds good, rather it is well recognised now
that the entrepreneurs can be created and nurtured through appropriate interventions in
the form of entrepreneurship development training.

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By 2050, India will have one of worlds largest young population along with 25% of
worlds graduate students. India potentially could be the single largest producer of highly
qualified engineers and an awesome possessor of the largest young workforce with the
highest level of knowledge skills in the world.
The vision is to orient this trained workforce in the direction of entrepreneurship so that
they contribute to the economy and reduce the burden of unemployment on the state.
That is where the concept of Skilling Plus Plus comes to the picture. This will involve
imparting entrepreneurial skills to all levels of the workforce, besides the existing skill
education received by them at a specialized place to encourage them to open their own
business.

Entrepreneurship Nurturing Centre (ENC):

The ENC is a full-fledged one-stop, single-window facility which provides information,
procedural assistance and guidance to individuals and offer hand-holding assistance to
realize their dreams of becoming an entrepreneur and creating a business of their own.
The novelty of this idea lies in the fact that anybody and everybody would be able to
access the services of this facility, be they be new or existing entrepreneurs. Anyone
who utilises the services of this initiative gets the privilege of:

Ready-made project profiles

Entrepreneur information database

Legal, financial, accounting, manpower, marketing & auditing support

Information about Central and State government incentive/assistance schemes

and linking the project/entrepreneur with appropriate scheme

Guidance to avail credit facilities suiting their needs

Market information

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Post-startup operational consulting assistance

The ENC will consist of agents who will personally guide the entrepreneur through the
steps of forming an enterprise with the support of an expert group constituting legal,
taxation, technology, marketing and human resource professionals. Additionally, the
ENC will be drawing up a pool of experts from diverse areas whose knowledge can be
drawn upon in cases of specialized ventures.
Another objective of ENC will be to conduct periodic EDPs for prospective entrepreneurs
and also at colleges, management institutes and ITIs to attract and motivate
entrepreneurs to avail the services of ENC and set up new establishments. This will be
part of the Skilling Plus Plus program mentioned before. Efforts will be made to identify
and nurture entrepreneurs from these interactions and hand-hold them until successful
creation of enterprises by such entrepreneurs.
ENC also will make provisions to offer table/desk space with internet facilities to
interested entrepreneurs, as a part of its incubation effort, to kick-start their
entrepreneurial ambition.
Another major objective of ENC will be to assist similarly skilled entrepreneurs to form
clusters and bring the cluster under the scheme of MSE-CDP by M/o MSME.
Webcon proposes to start ENC as a pilot project in Kolkata, West Bengal, where
Webcon is located. In this stage, the ENC will be approaching colleges (degree and
engineering) as well as entertaining walk-ins to hand hold them to their own enterprises.
Based on the demands and general market perspective, ENC has selected and already
prepared the following project profiles to focus enterprise building during the pilot stage:
1. Jute diversified products
2. Handicrafts
3. Poultry
4. Tailoring

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5. Beautician
6. Massage parlour
7. Handicrafts
8. Embroidery work
9. Plumbing
10. Mobile Repairing
The Ministry has already got its flagship scheme, PMEGP, for subsidizing bank credit to
new entrepreneurs and RGUMY, set up for handholding of new entrepreneurs for setting
up the enterprise, operations and marketing. The ENC will be the destined support
package that may be developed to supplement these schemes. The approach of ENC
will be two pronged- to enhance the skill of the entrepreneur and imparting managerial
and business skills. Besides, the entrepreneurs will be exposed to innovative ideas and
also asked to share their own so that new avenues are discovered in various fields. The
target of ENC will be to make at least 1,000 entrepreneurs in the pilot stage.

Funding
The main obstacle faced in making ENC successful is getting sufficient number of
entrepreneurs. Although there may be potential entrepreneurs ready to venture out on
their own, the lack of knowledge and the awareness that there are facilities available like
ENC to help them remain as an impediment. Therefore WEBCON proposes to make
ENC familiar amongst the urban and rural population by opening first one ENC in the
state of West Bengal, which will be run on a pilot basis. If the model proves to be
successful, similar centres will be opened in other states. Simultaneously, popularity
campaigns through different mechanisms like advertisements, events, seminars etc. Will
be run to make people aware of ENC. Bearing the cost factor in mind and how both
WEBCON and M/o MSME will benefit from these steps, WEBCON would request M/o
MSME to be a partner in these activities (operational and promotional), by bearing the
cost of at least 30% of the one-time and operational cost estimated to operate ENC. An

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indicative expense detail for carrying out both operational and promotional activities of
ENC in the state of West Bengal is given below. Besides, Webcon requests for a
letter/certificate of endorsement from the M/o MSME that Webcon Consulting (India)
Ltd. is empanelled/appointed as one of the bodies to actively nurture and promote
entrepreneurship in the MSME sectors; to propagate/promote its various schemes such
as IDLS, IIUS, etc; and to create awareness of entrepreneurship and creation of
enterprises among students of higher educational institutions and general public. Such
an endorsement from the M/o MSME will provide us with more authentic credential in
our campaign to nurture and create entrepreneurs. The tentative expense details for
operating ENC for a year are as below:
Sl.

Description of expense

Amount (Rs.)

Remarks

No.
1

Onetime

2,50,000

Lumpsum

Operational

102,80,000

Yearly expense

Marketing

3,90,000

Yearly expense

EDP

60,00,000

Yearly expense

Webcon proposes to approach other ministries like Ministry of Textile, Ministry of

Science & Technology, etc. for similar funding. In this context, it hopes that the
endorsement of the M/o MSME would be a great boost to chances of getting
supplementary funds from other ministries involved in similar schemes.

Future Plans
All the above out-of-the-box concepts will make ENC a unique body and the success of
this may easily be replicated in other states to promote entrepreneurs and various
government schemes to ultimately develop wealth and create jobs. The ultimate goal of
Webcon is to convert ENC into an Excellence Centre, which can be modeled all over
India.

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