UNIDO on a capacity building drive

To tie-up with small and medium enterprises of Orissa

The capacity building exercise of UNIDO is primarily focussed on the the staff of state directorate of industries , district level nodal agencies, district industries centres (DICs) and Industrial Promotion and Investment Corporation of Orissa Limited ( IPICOL).

The training programmes aim at improving the professional services offered by the agencies and ensure a shift from the policy of implementation and policy management to an industrial and SME promotion advocacy role.

 

According to government feedbacks, the role of the industries department is shrinking by the day due to simplification of procedures and removal of protection to the SME sector. Also the promotional role through subsidisation and training of the SME sector is gradually falling in the state.

In such a condition the government feels that the role of UNIDO and other such agencies should be promoted for a better achievement of aims in the SME sector.

With the help of other agencies, the industry department, which has a large pool of resources will be able to offer adequate and high value and low cost couselling services to the SME sector. Currently the SME sector in the state lacks the required funds to have counselling from the expert agencies and professionals.

It may be noted that the Team Orissa Project, funded by DFID and implemented by UNIDO is anchored at IPICOL. It is offering different training modules to achieve the goal of making the industries department responsive to the needs of the SMEs in the state.

The training is  mainly to develop sectoral assessment reports, identification of new opportunities and company profiling for investment promotion, business counselling and training in investment project preparation and appraisal using UNIDO developed software called COMFAR.

The last training has been conducted 3 times with 52 professionals from various state government departments, IPICOL and Xavier Institute of Management Bhubaneswar (XIMB) benefitting from it.

UNIDO plans to leave an institutional framework to be set up at XIMB to support a training and consultancy services for SMEs in Orissa. Govermment sources said, that a memorandum of understanding ( MoU) between XIMB and IPICOL will also be signed.