New Delhi, Sept 16 (KNN) With an endeavour to create awareness about innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship amongst micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), German development agency GIZ organized an awareness campaign in Odisha’s capital city Bhubaneswar.

India’s MSME sector, the second largest employer in India, faces several challenges, including strong international competition, pressure to use key resources like energy, water and raw materials more efficiently and to implement more environmentally sustainable production processes.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit GmbH or GIZ recognizes that by modernising and adopting green and inclusive innovations, India's MSME sector can create new economic opportunities and strengthen its long-term competitiveness.

Under the Indo-German Innovation Project ‘MSME Inno’, GIZ has been working towards enhancing the capacities of MSMEs for developing inclusive and sustainable innovations.

The Central Tool Room & Training Centre (CTTC), Bhubaneswar and GIZ organised this awareness event on innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship on September 13.

GIZ is supporting the setup and operationalization of the incubator at the CTTC through expert advice on activities such as trainings through capacity building and financial means.

The key speakers at the event included Prasanta Biswal from Startup Odisha, Dr SK Kar from CTTC Bhubaneswar and Mr Das from MSME-DI.

The dignitaries addressed on the importance of innovative and entrepreneurial activity in the region.

Additionally, Dr. Kartigeyan from CTTC Bhubaneswar, an expert on Intellectual Property Rights, who is part of the new incubator team, talked about the role of IPR for start-ups.

Raghunandan Rajamani, an incubation expert cum Executive Director of Indian STEPs and Business Incubators Association (ISBA), gave a presentation on the journey from idea to product, providing the audience of students, young entrepreneurs and start-ups with valuable insights into the early stages of entrepreneurship.

GIZ with the support of MSME Ministry has been conducting series of such event across the country to promote innovation amongst MSMEs and strengthen the overall innovation system.