NEW DELHI: As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, the Ministry of Rural Development provided Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan worth Rs. 8.60 Cr to 2614 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, Union Govt. said.
During the celebration of Amrit Mahotsav, various activities were organized under Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) in the week of 6th to 12th September 2021. These events focused on creating awareness about the SVEP scheme and how it supports SHG members who want to start micro-businesses in rural areas. In these events, public representatives, Govt. officials, and Community Based Organizations participated.
Before providing this Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan, SHG entrepreneurs were given initial training on entrepreneurship and a detailed business plan of their proposed business was 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 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 & 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 making 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.
