New Delhi, Sept 7 (KNN) Eyeing to encourage innovation and facilitate MSMEs in the region, Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) has embarked on an ambitious project of setting up the KASSIA Centre of Excellence and Innovation at Dobbaspet on the Mumbai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor, close to the National Industrial manufacturing Zone on the NH4.

 KASSIA said “The Centre of Excellence and Innovation has been conceived with a view to help micro and small industries acquire the necessary competitive edge by providing advance facilities for technology up-gradation as well as marketing, skill development and exhibition facilities under one roof.”

This will be an extremely useful and supportive multi-dimensional resource facility for members of KASSIA and the MSMEs in general, the release said.

Commenting over this innovation centre, KASSIA, President, Basavaraj S. Javali, said, “We aim to develop a world class skill development centre at the KASSIA Centre of Excellence and Innovation at Dobbaspet with residential accommodation for the trainees so that outstation trainees will have no problem of accommodation thereby spreading its reach wider.”

The key components of the KASSIA innovation centre include Centre for Enterprise Development, International Exhibition Centre, Common Tool Room, Marketing Centre, R&D Testing Centre and Green Initiatives, among others.

The Centre for Enterprise Development would focus on enterprise development in rural and semi urban areas by aligning with government schemes and programs and leveraging them.

As an integral part of the Excellence Centre, a technology development centre along with a tool room will be set up to encourage indigenous development of technology including product design and development, said KASSIA.

Recognizing the importance of marketing, KASSIA Marketing Development Centre will provide market access to SME products nationally and internationally and also help in branding and IPR creation.

“The centre will operate as the nodal point for market information in alignment with the information centre as well as being able to guide the entrepreneurs in accessing new markets making use of the latest marketing and promotional tools”, said Ravikiran Kulkarni, General Secretary of KASSIA.