Hekani Jakhalu, Advisor, Industries & Commerce seen with others officials and entrepreneurs during the observance of World MSME Day 2026 at the Conference Hall of Industries & Commerce, Kohima on June 26.
Morung Express News
Kohima | June 26
As per Udyam Assist Platform (UAP), Nagaland has registered a total of 82,913 MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) including 52,599 under the category of Micro, 189 under Small, 13 in Medium and 30,112 in IMEs (UAP). The total Udyam for Nagaland state is 52,801.
Stating that MSME registration is moving at a remarkable pace, Chonpenthung Ezung, Deputy Secretary, Industries & Commerce said on the occassion of World MSME Day organised by Department of Industries & Commerce in association with Nagaland Industrial Development Corporation Limited (NIDC) on June 26 that MSME is widely acknowledged as the backbone of the Indian economy with the MSME sector alone contributing nearly 30% to India’s GDP, around 46% of exports, and provides employment to more than 11 crore people across the country.
In this context, he also highlighted about the Naturally Nagaland Initiative, a flagship market-development platform under the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) Scheme being implemented by the Department of Industries & Commerce that was conceived to strengthen the branding, visibility, and market accessibility of MSMEs from Nagaland by bringing together the efforts of multiple stakeholders under a unified platform.
With the world increasingly moving towards native, sustainable, and authentic products, he underlined that, “this is the time for us to think globally and prepare our MSMEs for true export readiness” while elucidating that, “Export success today depends not only on price competitiveness, but also on compliance, certification, quality, environmental responsibility, carbon footprint reduction and proper export documentation.”
“Our real strength lies in our native talent and traditional knowledge”, he said, while pointing out that “in sectors like textiles, we must identify and document authentic designs, motifs, and patterns, protect them through GI tags aggressively, and present them as part of a strong story that appeals to international buyers.”
Given the rich culture and heritage of our people, he also exuded belief that, “we can reach greater heights in our brand visibility.” Even as Nagaland is blessed with a wealth of unique products, traditional skills, and entrepreneurial talent ranging from handloom, handicrafts, agro-based products, bamboo, natural products, organic produce, and other indigenous enterprises, he underscored that, “our State has enormous potential for value addition and niche market expansion.”
However, as many producers continue to face challenges in establishing strong brand identity and accessing larger markets beyond their immediate localities, he said that, “Naturally Nagaland aims to bridge this gap by creating a credible, government-supported brand framework that promotes authentic, natural, and indigenous products from the State.”
Stating that Naturally Nagaland initiative is not just about promoting products, he emphasized that, “it is about empowering entrepreneurs by mobilizing and onboarding MSMEs, Self-Help Groups, artisans, cooperatives, and emerging enterprises under a common identity.”
Naturally Nagaland seeks to transform local products into recognized brands and create sustainable market opportunities for our producers, he added while pointing out that, “It is through such collective branding and institutional support that small enterprises can scale up, improve livelihoods, and become more competitive.”
Addressing the gathering, Hekani Jakhalu, Advisor, Industries & Commerce traced the history of World MSME Day that was designated by the United Nations General Assembly on June 27 in 2017.
In the past three years, she remarked that, “we have given our everything to do whatever we can so that MSMEs are promoted and supported” while also impressing upon that, “there was never a holistic intervention done in the past.”
In this regard, she said that they are fortunate to have the RAMP Program with some funds from the Ministry to do intensive intervention.
She further thanked the RAMP team for ensuring that no stone us left unturned. Reminding that it is a process and over the last couple of years, they have done as much intervention as possible, she noted that the final ultimate impact may not be seen this year. However, she asserted that the foundation would be stronger in scaling up enterprises.
She also exuded hope that the registration would continue to grow while expressing that, “our government is very serious.”
Highlights of the programme included welcome address by Cholzo Sophie, Joint Director, Industries & Commerce, success stories of the RAMP programme by Tsachola Sangtam, HillCraft Co. and Neivi Khieya, Carmel Timber and vote of thanks by Hojeto K Suqhe, Joint Director, Industries & Commerce. The event also witnessed the signing of MoU between T-Works and Government of Nagaland.
