New Delhi, Sept 15 (KNN) To start micro-enterprises in the villages, the Ministry of Rural Development provided Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan worth Rs. 8.60 Cr to 2614 SHG entrepreneurs in a week.

As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Rural Development provided Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan worth Rs. 8.60 Cr to 2614 SHG entrepreneurs in a week. The loans were given for starting their micro-enterprises in their villages across 19 States under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme, the Rural Development Ministry said in a statement.

During the celebration of Amrit Mahotsav, various activities organized under Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) in the week of 6th to 12th September, 2021. These events focused on creating awareness about the SVEP scheme and how it supports SHG members who want to start micro-businesses in rural areas. In these events public representatives, Govt. officials and Community Based Organizations participated.

Prior to providing this Community Enterprise Fund (CEF) loan, SHG entrepreneurs were given initial training on entrepreneurship and detailed business plans for their proposed business were prepared.

States which participated in this initiative are – Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.

During these events, SHG entrepreneurs shared their experiences and journey of starting their own enterprises in their villages, becoming entrepreneurs and various supports they received under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP). They also emphasized the strength of regular handholding to understand steps to do business & making it successful and also creating strong market linkages.

The Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) is a sub-scheme under NRLM to promote enterprises in rural areas. SVEP aims to set up an eco-system for enterprise development in a block. This consists of a cadre of Community Resource Persons-Enterprise Promotion (CRP-EP), who will provide business support services to entrepreneurs.

The scheme encompasses identifying business ideas, preparation of business plans, accessing loans and other supports like marketing, maintaining accounts & taking business decisions. Further, the eco-system also includes training and capacity building of entrepreneurs, seed capital for starting enterprises, marketing support for products and services etc. Besides, the Block Resource Centre (BRC), the single point solution for enterprise promotion is also developed as part of the eco-system.

Minister for Rural Development, Government of Uttar Pradesh Rajendra Pratap Singh inaugurated SVEP BRC office in Sewapuri block, Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh. He provided CEF Loan cheque to enterprise in Sewapuri block, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh; Antah block of Baran district, Rajasthan and Kolasib SVEP block, Mizoram.