SHILLONG, Sept 2: The North Eastern Council (NEC), in collaboration with B-School Incubator IIM Calcutta Innovation Park, launched a first-of-its-kind North East Entrepreneurship Development Programme (NEEDP) on Friday here at NEC Secretariat, Nongrim Hills in Shillong. Deemed as a pioneering initiative encompassing beneficiaries from all the eight states of the region, the initiative envisages identifying and empowering 270 promising entrepreneurs from Northeast India with well-laid incubation and pre-incubation programmes.
The programme, NEEDP was launched by Secretary, NEC, K. Moses Chalai. The event witnessed the presence of top officials from North Eastern Council, including representatives from IIM Calcutta Innovation Park.
Addressing the gathering, Secretary K. Moses Chalai mentioned about the importance of infusing innovation and technology in startups and Small businesses to scale it up to a higher level. Also, he showed high degree of optimism in creating highly successful startups, including unicorns from Northeast India. "The region has a lot of untapped young talent and their brilliance always enthuses. Providing them a right platform and opportunities will not only brighten their career but, boost the economy of the NE region," he added.
The first phase of the initiative, the NE Entrepreneurship Challenge (Hunt) was also formally launched during the inauguration ceremony. The Hunt is a combination of multiple initiatives aimed at identifying top 270 startup ideas from the region. It would culminate with a Reward and Recognition Summit, wherein the 270 selected startups will be awarded with cash prizes, certificates and enrollment into the Incubation and Pre-Incubation programmes, stated a press release.
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