Japan-aided project, Centre’s WEP set to benefit Telangana MSME’s from Oct. 1 

MSMEs in Telangana to receive support from JICA project and WEP, enhancing entrepreneurship opportunities for startups and women.

Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Telangana can look forward to more institutional support with a Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) funded project and the government of India-backed Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) set to get off the ground in the State beginning October 1.

Three to four initiatives are coming together, Industries and IT Secretary Jayesh Ranjan told the 7th edition of CII Telangana’s MSME Summit that was organised on Friday in the backdrop of a dedicated policy for such enterprises the State government had unveiled recently.

One of the important initiatives will be the project with ₹1,700 crore JICA funding to promote entrepreneurship with a focus on capacity building. Though it will not be exclusively for MSMEs with 80% of the project for startups, the balance 20% will be also be substantial for MSMEs. The emphasis will be on supporting MSMEs in multiple ways, from capacity building, skilling to hand holding, the senior official said, adding the State government was able to secure the long term loan from JICA at a low rate of interest.

A project of importance to women entrepreneurs, both in formal and informal sectors as well as self help groups in Telangana, will be NITI Aayog’s seven year old Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP). The Centre has decided to roll out WEP in States and Telangana has been selected to get the first chapter, on October 1, Mr. Ranjan said.

According to NITI Aayog, WEP was launched in 2017 to promote a conducive ecosystem for women’s entrepreneurship in the country by emerging as an unified aggregator of relevant information and services. It sought to strengthen industry linkages and increase awareness of existing programmes among women entrepreneurs, including specifically by providing access to incubation and acceleration; entrepreneurship skilling and mentorship; marketing assistance; and financial assistance.

Mr. Ranjan said the State government will early next month give shape to an institutional mechanism by roping in industry bodies, MSME proponents, academic institutions and the State Level Bankers’ Committee. “It will fully empowered as well as autonomous to implement all “policy initiatives [for MSMEs] with utmost sincerity”, he said, the proposed mechanism will be in sharp contract to the advisory committees.

The World Bank-assisted Central scheme Raising Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) is also to be rolled out in Telangana with all the 14 projects proposed by the State government sanctioned, he said. Under the scheme a set of services would be provided to extend support and guidance to the MSMEs.