Department of Industries to Foster Entrepreneurial Culture Among Students

KOCHI:
Aimed at enhancing the entrepreneurial culture among students, the Department of Industries and Commerce, Government of Kerala organized a meeting of coordinators of Entrepreneurship Development Clubs (ED Clubs) functioning in educational institutions (schools, colleges, technical, and professional institutions) across the state in Kochi.

Minister for Industries, Law and Coir, P. Rajeeve inaugurated a new online portal to streamline the activities of ED Clubs and launched the “Dreamvestor” project, which aims to nurture innovative entrepreneurial ideas among students and help them start ventures.

Currently, each ED Club receives a grant of Rs 20,000 per financial year. The Minister announced that, from this financial year onwards, the assistance will be provided in three tiers: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced, based on the classification of the ED Clubs.

Educational institutions can use these funds for organizing workshops, interactions with sectoral experts, various training programs focused on entrepreneurship development, field visits, and more.

The Minister also announced special financial assistance for students who propose promising entrepreneurial ideas within ED Clubs. He also announced that state-level awards will be instituted for ED Clubs that showcase outstanding performance.

The registration, proposal submission, and financial assistance applications, which are currently done offline, will now be shifted online through a dedicated portal exclusively for ED Clubs. This portal will allow the uploading of comprehensive information related to ED Clubs, as well as the submission of applications for financial assistance, activity reports, student performance tracking, and more.

The Dreamvestor project aims to provide an opportunity for all college students in Kerala to present their ideas, develop them, and turn them into ventures. The project will be conducted in three phases, starting with an Ideathon aimed at identifying the best ideas. Students can register as teams for this initiative.

A workshop will be organized to help them transform their ideas into ventures, after which, detailed plans must be submitted for the Ideathon. From each district, 12 of the best ideas will be selected, totaling 168 entries, and from these, top ten ideas at the state level will be identified through further competition. The objective is to create opportunities and encourage students in Kerala to build a promising future within the state.

Principal Secretary, Department of Industries and Commerce, APM Mohammed Hanish; Director, Department of Industries and Commerce, and Managing Director, KSIDC S. Harikishore; R Prashant, General Manager, KSIDC; Liju Nair, Business Head, ASAP; and Additional Director, Department of Industries and Commerce Dr KS Kripakumar, and around 300 ED Club coordinators from across the state also attended the event.