Kohima, November 15 (MExN): The Nagaland government has completed two major capacity-building and entrepreneurship development initiatives under the Raising and Accelerating MSME Performance (RAMP) Programme, reaching over 21,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and more than 483 aspiring entrepreneurs across the state.
The initiatives, implemented by the Department of Industries and Commerce, aimed at strengthening the state's MSME ecosystem, improving enterprise capabilities and promoting entrepreneurship among educated unemployed youth.
Under the Capacity Building Programme for 18,000 MSMEs, a total of 192 workshops were conducted across all 17 districts, covering more than 21,000 MSMEs.
The programme comprised 57 Entrepreneurship Awareness Programme workshops and 135 specialised capacity-building workshops. The sessions covered financial literacy, legal and statutory compliance, business management, digital and social media marketing, customer engagement, innovation, social responsibility and communication skills.
Women accounted for a significant share of the beneficiaries, with 11,445 women MSMEs receiving training. The initiative also recorded the participation of 236 MSMEs owned or represented by Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), while the overall participation of PwDs across categories stood at 584.
A follow-up assessment indicated that participants had applied the knowledge gained through the programme in areas such as financial management, digital payments, customer engagement, communication, business planning and compliance.
Among 4,466 valid responses received during the assessment, 66.6 per cent of respondents reported an increase in income from self-employment, while 9.7 per cent reported expansion of their existing businesses.
The findings were based on participant-reported responses and indicated enterprise-level progress following the capacity-building intervention.
Complementing the statewide MSME initiative, the Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) focused on introducing educated unemployed youth to entrepreneurship and self-employment as viable livelihood and career options.
A total of 12 EDP workshops were completed, reaching more than 483 participants across Dimapur, Chumoukedima, Kohima, Mokokchung, Wokha, Zunheboto, Tuensang and Mon districts.
The EDP curriculum provided practical exposure to entrepreneurship, identification of business opportunities, market research, business planning, marketing and SWOT analysis, bookkeeping, government support schemes, enterprise management, networking, communication, branding and digital tools.
The learning activities included startup ideation, preparation of basic business plans, budgeting exercises, cashbook practice, case studies, networking exercises and group assessments.
The completion assessment also highlighted areas requiring attention to strengthen future entrepreneurship interventions. These included greater practical exposure, sustained mentoring and networking opportunities, improved access to finance and structured post-training support to help prospective entrepreneurs translate business ideas into viable enterprises.
The completion of the two initiatives marks an important milestone under RAMP Nagaland, combining large-scale capacity building for existing MSMEs with entrepreneurship development for aspiring entrepreneurs.
The Capacity Building and Entrepreneurship Development initiatives were implemented in collaboration with M/s EduNorth East Pvt Ltd and M/s Schoolnet India Ltd as implementation partners.
The information was provided by Atsung Sangtam, Technical Expert (M&E Team), RAMP Nagaland, Directorate of Industries and Commerce.
