Meghalaya makes it's to 'Best Performers' list over start-ups

A CORRESPONDENT

SHILLONG: The results of the third edition of ranking of States on support to the start-up ecosystem were released by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry on Monday in New Delhi and Meghalaya was placed in the 'Best Performers' category along with the States of Gujarat and Karnataka.

The State Government had launched the PRIME (Promotion and Incubation of Market Driven Enterprises) programme in January, 2020 to give a concerted push to the creation of an ecosystem for the promotion of entrepreneurship in the State.

As part of the programme, 100 aspiring entrepreneurs are selected via an annual open competition – the Chief Minister's e-Championship Challenge.

Once onboard, they are provided with mentorship, incubation and infrastructural/logistics support through a network of PRIME hubs.

Taking cognizance of the fact that accessing formal financial services still remains a challenge in the State, various funding windows have been incorporated under the programme to help the entrepreneurs in accessing seed capital alongside credit/loans.

As part of the funding initiative, grants of up to Rs 5 lakh are provided to select entrepreneurs for product development and R&D-related activities.

Further, interest-free loans of up to Rs 25 lakh are also provided to entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses/operations. Till date, over 210 entrepreneurs have secured funding from the programme and almost 1,300 entrepreneurs have benefitted from various other programme components such as accessing the co-working spaces and undergoing training programs.

The programme has been a success on account of the collaborative efforts of the Commerce & Industries Department , which has been providing policy support. The Meghalaya Basin Management Agency (MBMA), Meghalaya Institute of Entrepreneurship (MIE) and IIM Calcutta Innovation Park (IIMCIP) are the knowledge partners, which have been instrumental in the implementation of the programme.

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