Neichüte Doulo (2nd from left) along with Entrepreneurs Associate members in Kohima on October 13.
Morung Express News
Kohima | October 13
In her famous TED talk ‘The Danger of a Single Story’, Nigerian Writer Chimamanda Adichie Ngozi said, “Stories have been used to dispossess and to malign, but stories can also be used to empower and to humanize. Stories can break the dignity of a people, but stories can also repair that broken dignity.”
On October 7, Neichüte Doulo was awarded as the Social Entrepreneur of the Year –India 2016, instituted by Schwab Foundation and the Jubilant Bhartia Foundation and selected by a distinguished Jury Board, in New Delhi. Among the five finalists from across the nation, Doulo emerged as the winner for the recognition of his works with Entrepreneurs Associate (EA), an organisation set up in 2001 to counter insurgency, a broken economy and the landscape of despair among Naga people. In its 16 years of existence, EA has impacted 60,000 individuals in Nagaland and Manipur providing trainings for first time entrepreneurs from the agriculture and non-agriculture sectors, offering credit, intense hand holding, and business acceleration program. The recognition of an organisation from Nagaland by a global forum is a story that repairs the broken dignity of a people and a region infamous for conflict and corruption.
Holding a press conference at its office on October 13, the EA team shared their proud moment on being awarded the prestigious Prize which they mentioned does not carry any cash prize.
“I would think it as one of the highest awards Nagas have come to. It will have far reaching impact in the Northeast region beginning with Nagaland. I hope this award will give a new branding to NE and particularly Nagaland. I hope that in the next 10 years, Nagaland will become a producing state because we can produce, and Nagaland will become a revenue state and be known for its enterprising spirit,” said Neichüte Doulo. Doulo was among over a 100 applicants, out of which only five finalists were selected. The selection included rigorous evaluation and assessment of the organisation and its activities by experts, and one on one interview with the board of juries. “But then we began to hope that our ideas are powerful, we have changed lives. We have also seen how youth has become development players and peace builders. They have become job providers and very good community developers. I felt at ease because our work is so empowering. We must tell the world that youth are not problems, and that regions like us are not necessarily problematic regions,” expressed Doulo. He recalled the words of Lok Sabha MP Neiphiu Rio as stating that “this is the first time that Nagaland is in the limelight for the right reasons.”
Shiroi Shaiza, Corporate Manager, GSL and Program Manager EA pointed out that EA’s model of social entrepreneurship is a unique and organic model towards building self-esteem in young people while inculcating self reliance and entrepreneurship in them.
“The people we were competing against were enormous. We thought we don’t stand a chance,” said Neingulie Nakhro, who however noted that EA’s work could relate to the vision of the Schwab Foundation. “Livelihoods are being affected and impact is being made even though at a smaller scale but something that can be scaled up and used in a lot of conflict zones. Behind him (Doulo) is a team which has been working for 16 years which has gone through very little ups and a lot of downs but have come out successful. We had been working at a time when funds were very scarce. At the end of the day, we have shown that Nagas are dependable, bankable and path breaking entrepreneurs,” said Nakhro. The award, Nakhro hoped would have a ripple effect in Nagaland and the NE in terms of investments and job opportunities.
The EA team shared optimism that it will trigger the process of branding Nagaland and the entire NE region as being an asset to the country instead of being a liability and enable the states to become revenue states in the long run. In a year’s time, EA aims to impact the lives of at least 10,000 farmers by empowering them as entrepreneurs. EA will further venture into other states and expand its activities.
Neichüte Doulo will meanwhile be on the Jury board in 2017 selecting the SEOY India winner, while also representing India in the acclaimed World Economic Forum January 2017, at Davos, Switzerland.
