The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), which is going to start its Orissa chapter soon, has recommended a slew of measures to the Orissa government to give the much needed fillip to entrepreneurship in the state.
TiE has suggested the state government to set up an incubation centre and also put in place a Seed Fund to promote entrepreneurship in a big way.
"I had discussions with the state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on creating a conducive atmosphere for entrepreneurship. What we have suggested is that the state can set up an incubation centre for the first generation entrepreneurs and this centre has to be run by competent professionals. Moreover, a Seed Fund has to be created by the state for funding the entrepreneurial ventures", Venkatesh Shukla, member of the board of TiE told Business Standard.
The state government also needs to rope in Non-Resident Oriyas settled overseas to lend their expertise to the upcoming entrepreneurs in the state, Shukla, who visited the state recently, said.
"What I also emphasized during my talks with the Chief Minister that there is an institutional bias against the start-ups and home grown entrepreneurs and this mindset has to be changed as small businesses create nearly 80 per cent of the jobs. For instance in procurement of IT hardware, a level playing field needs to be created for the local entrepreneurs so that they are not eliminated at the pre-qualification stage", he added.
Shukla pointed out that the rules and procedures for the small businesses and the start-ups need to be eased as any FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) no matter how massive it is, can bring sustainable development for the society.
"The single most important thing that Orissa can do to create jobs is to eliminate or minimize delays in setting up of a business and in day-to-day running of a business. The state can set up special courts for settlement of disputes of the small business owners", he said.
