Page 32 - EDII Report 135

Fueling Entrepreneurship in Keonjhar

…with the Support of District Mineral

Foundation (DMF)

EDII, in collaboration with District Skill Development-cum-Employment Office
(DSDEO), Keonjhar and with funding support from District Mineral Foundation
(DMF), Keonjhar has launched the Project DMF Udyami. This initiative aims to
promote an entrepreneurial ecosystem in seven mining affected blocks and
municipality wards in Keonjhar. Over the next five years, the project is committed to
providing support to over 10,000 youth, PwDs, widows including 3200 aspiring &
existing entrepreneurs and 7000 entrepreneurs, thereby focusing to drive significant
human and economic development.
Over the last two months, two three-day Entrepreneurship Development
Programmes (EDPs) were conducted in Keonjhar Sadar Block and Harichandanpur
Block, engaging 141 new and existing entrepreneurs. The programme focused on
improving essential skills of the participants in business planning, financial literacy,
market linkages and accessing credit support. The programme also provided
guidance on Udyam registration and various government schemes. These trainings
have been crucial in boosting the confidence of participants in launching and
expanding their business.

In parallel with the training, awareness meetings were held, covering 37 villages and
reaching out to 577 participants. Furthermore, under the project 38 Udyam
Registrations have been completed. To ensure that the support provided is highly
outcome based, a robust baseline survey was executed, encompassing 2,467
household expenditure surveys, 25 panchayat resource mapping exercises and 93
baseline enterprise surveys. The project will ensure empowerment of the people of
Keonjhar through entrepreneurship.

Participants of Entrepreneurship DevelopmentProgrammes (EDPs) conducted in Keonjhar.

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