Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Rural Development provided Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan worth Rs 8.60 crore to 2,614 SHG entrepreneurs in a week. The loans were given for starting their micro-enterprises at their villages across 19 States under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme.
During the celebration of Amrit Mahotsav, various activities were organised under Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) from September 6 to September 12, 2021. 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. At these events, public representatives, Govt. officials and Community Based Organizations participated, according to a PIB release.
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.
States which participated in this initiative are : 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 at their villages, becoming entrepreneurs, and various supports they received under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP). They also emphasised the strength of regular handholding to understand steps to do business and making it successful and also creating strong market linkages.
The Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) is a sub – scheme under 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 and 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.