Punjab Govt, SIDBI to support six-month plan to boost MSME

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, August 17

The Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME), in partnership with the Government of Punjab and Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings (CICU) and supported by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), has opened up the application process for the second cohort of Growtherator Ludhiana. The aim of the programme is to advance Punjab’s transformation ‘Saada Karobaar Punjab di Shaan’ and helping Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) scale up their business efficiently. The Growtherator is a small business accelerator programme (six-month cohorts) to support 30 promising enterprises in improving their productivity, efficiency and profitability significantly.

The programme invites applications from profitable businesses with annual revenue of Rs 2 crore to Rs 10 crore in service industry, and Rs 10 crore to Rs 50 crore in manufacturing trade or export businesses with at least three years of annual filings. Businesses with annual revenue of Rs 2 crore to Rs 50 crore, that are led by women (majority equity owned by women), are also encouraged to apply.

Sachit Jain, vice chairman and MD, Vardhman Special Steels and Chair, GAME Punjab Taskforce, said “As the second wave of Covid-19 is behind us, it is important to set our sights on the recovery of MSME. Punjab currently has close to 3 lakh MSME and it is imperative that we nurture, encourage and support local entrepreneurship with the larger aim of driving growth. The focus is to ensure we tap into more businesses and propel them towards growth.”

Upkar Singh, CICU president, said “Ludhiana is teeming with MSME that have potential for exponential growth but little access to opportunities. The first cohort of Growtherator addressed the gaps and equipped MSME to chart a new path for seamless growth. As we set out for the second cohort, the aim remains to create ample opportunities while helping MSME overcome the challenges posed by Covid-induced slowdown”.

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