The event — Empowering MSMEs: Forging a Resilient Future — was organised by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in association with The Economic Times, with an aim to uplift innovation and entrepreneurship in the capital city of Odisha. The high-powered event saw a large gathering of MSMEs and industry stakeholders.
The SIDBI MSME Conclave in Bhubaneswar hosted enlightening fireside chats and panel discussions with stakeholders and industry leaders on topics such as building a startup hub, encouraging innovation and fostering collaboration in the MSME clusters in Odisha.The MSME conclave began with a speech from Sudatta Mandal, DMD, SIDBI. The topic was “Odisha’s Startup Hub: SIDBI’s Role in Shaping the Next Decade”. Mandal spoke on the need to increase credit flow to MSMEs, including the underserved and unserved MSMEs; and highlighted the need to create adequate liquidity in the system.
Mandal spoke at length about the various credit schemes being run by SIDBI to cater to the credit needs of MSMEs. “We have started extending venture debt to MSMEs and startups where term loan is being sanctioned to eligible enterprises in sectors under manufacturing and services across India,” said Mandal.
This followed a special address from Saswat Mishra, Principal Secretary, MSME, Odisha, who spoke on “Cluster Development and District Growth: An Insider’s Perspective on Odisha’s Strategy”. Mishra talked in detail about the initiatives taken and the policies launched by the Odisha government to empower MSMEs in the state.
“The state government is bringing in an enabling policy framework for MSMEs. Under this, we are giving incentives such as Rs 50-Rs 60 crore in subsidies annually to MSMEs under various policies,” said Mishra.
The principal secretary also talked about the need to provide easy credit to MSMEs as they generally face issues related to credit, delayed payment and high litigation costs. “This year, we have started a new scheme where the working capital interest is partly reimbursed by the state,” added Mishra.
Mishra informed the gathering about the Bhubaneswar airport receiving all statutory permissions and clearances to get the required infrastructure ready for direct export and import of air cargo. “The operations are expected to begin by January 31 and small exporters and importers can take advantage of this,” added Mishra.
A special address from Omkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha, on “Catalyzing Odisha’s Entrepreneurship from Ground Up” set off a new buzz among the participants.
Rai discussed how the health of startups in Odisha has reached a mass critical threshold level and how they are all set to transition to the next level. He also talked about how young boys and girls from remote areas of the state have come forward and ideated their pitches during the pitching session held by the department. “We have selected 100 ideas,” said Rai.
ET OnlineOmkar Rai, Executive Chairman, Startup Odisha discussed how the health of startups in Odisha has reached a mass critical threshold level and how they are all set to transition to the next level.
“MSMEs have to be world class in their vision and tech and must solve their local problems. There should be a platform to afford the knowledge and startups from all over the world to transact with the local startups to make meaningful connections,” added Rai.
Arup Kumar, CGM, SIDBI, talked about various SIDBI-owned credit platforms that are currently helping MSMEs. He explained how the SIDBI Cluster Development Fund (SCDF) was supporting startups via the venture capital route. Kumar also spoke about how ONDC is bringing an ease to e-commerce onboarding in India.
Entrepreneurs and industry stakeholders also joined the conversation for a scintillating panel discussion on the theme “Innovation and Collaboration: MSME Clusters in Odisha – A Catalyst for Success”.
Subas Kumar Sahoo, Assistant Director, MSME-DFO, Cuttack, talked about how the department is working at the grassroot level to prepare project reports. “We also help MSMEs in databank for good quality machinery,” Sahoo added.
Divya Mallick, Co-Founder & CEO, Typof Technologies, said Odisha can see more collaboration in terms of MSMEs helping each other. “The collaboration is still growing in the state,” Mallick added.
Talking about innovation, Karjee Sumona, Founder of Prantae, said, “In India, frugal innovation plays an important role. But in companies like Prantee where we are creating products for people in the space of healthcare, frugal innovation is not something which I will advocate for. It’s the health of the people which is directly involved here and hence, we can’t take risks.” She further said that cost-effectiveness is more important than innovation in this space.
Meanwhile, there was also a concern raised regarding things moving slowly on the ground in terms of MSMEs getting new business opportunities in the state. “Even if we sign MoUs, in the case of MSMEs, when it comes to giving them business, things are not happening,” said AK Sharda, Honorary Secretary, UTKAL Chamber.
Pramod Kumar Vijayvargiya, GM, SIDBI, brought the event to an end by talking about how SIDBI is helping MSMEs by providing easy credit for purchasing assets, green finance and even assisting women entrepreneurs. “We would like to make the journey of customers seamless, end-to-end digital, leveraging technology,” said Pramod Kumar Vijayvargiya, GM, SIDBI.
His talk ended with a Q&A session with the entrepreneurs and other MSME promoters. Participants raised queries on credit and related documentation with SIDBI.
The SIDBI-ET MSME Conclave is a series of events being held across the nation to bring together MSMEs, policymakers and ecosystem enablers. The summit aims to catalyse the next wave of growth opportunities, foster knowledge exchange, enable networking and help to tackle challenges, so that Indian MSMEs can have sustainable growth. The first event took place in Indore on January 9.
