Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Livelihoods Mission (OLM) and IIT-Bhubaneswar Monday signed an MoU to provide business support to rural women entrepreneurs in the state.
Through this collaboration, they will receive support in business planning, product development, quality enhancement, market linkages, access to finance, and professional networking, said Odisha Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida, who is also in charge of the Women & Child Development and Mission Shakti departments.
Under the National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), an incubation programme is being launched through the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) to support growth-oriented rural enterprises across Odisha. IIT-Bhubaneswar will serve as the incubation partner for this initiative, officials said.
At least 150 growth-oriented rural enterprises will be supported through the incubation process over the next three years.
The Ministry of Rural Development has approved an expenditure of Rs 10.70 crore for the programme. In the first phase, Rs 99 lakh has been sanctioned to IIT-Bhubaneswar for implementation of the initiative, Parida said.
The incubation programme is expected to create a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem in the state, and pave the way for self-help groups (SHGs) to transform into small and medium enterprises, he said.
As per the agreement, IIT-Bhubaneswar will also assist in securing patents and process certifications to create unique identities for select products from Odisha.
