SHILLONG, June 30: Chief Minister Mukul Sangma today gave valuable tips to the prospective entrepreneurs on various practicable entrepreneurial and business opportunities available in the state.
He was addressing the iugural session of the day-long Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurs’ Conclave on Business & Enterprise Opportunities at Ampati.
Organized by Meghalaya Institute of Entrepreneurship (MIE) Shillong & Tura and South West Garo Hills Basin Development Unit under the aegis of IBDLP, the conclave saw the participation of hundreds of potential entrepreneurs from across the five districts of Garo Hills.
The Chief Minister spelt out a number of business opportunities available under various sectors like industries, sericulture & weaving, agriculture and horticulture, dairy farming, fisheries, etc.
He, however, stressed the need to create opportunities for livelihood for the young potentials entrepreneurs and give them the required hand holding support so that there will no reason for them to get frustrated and become victims of vested interests.
He also expressed his view that group enterprises invariably end up unsuccessful without a sense of direction and ownership and as such he underlined the need to build up individual entrepreneurship.
He informed the gathering that the government is setting up Rural Entrepreneurship and Incubation Centres across the State, adding that entrepreneurs should be encouraged to avail the facilities in these centers as most of the first generation entrepreneurs did not have the means to muster the required infrastructure for starting their business.
The Chief Minister also urged the department concerned to lay focus on spice production as we have varieties of spices available in the region which can be cultivated along with other cash-crops and establish small-scale spice processing units to help the farmers. He also enlightened the gathering about the huge market that potato farming can have as there is a huge gap in the demand and supply of potatoes and urged the department concerned to identify fallow lands across the state for potato cultivation.
Sangma said huge amount of money is spent by companies on brand-building of their products. “However the state government believes in creating stories to brand build our products”, he said and allayed the fears of marketing problems saying marketing is no longer a problem as there is already a digital platform available for us.
On the occasion, the Chief Minister also handed over the handlooms for creating water hyacinth handicrafts to the partners under MBDA who have been trained by NEDFi in Guwahati and also bee keeping equipment to the partners under Agriculture Mission.
