Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) Southern Regional Office Celebrates a Decade of Impacting and Empowering One Million Potential Entrepreneurs

Bengaluru: The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) established in 1983 amidst apprehensions about entrepreneurship as a conscious career option, is today the foremost National Resource Institute in Entrepreneurship Education, Training, Research, Institution Building, MSME Growth, Innovations and Incubation. The organization is governed by the Governing Board comprising policy makers, academicians, bureaucrats, entrepreneurs. The board is headed by MD & CEO of IDBI Bank Ltd. Since 1983, EDII has come a long way and is today the much-acclaimed Centre of Excellence of the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship.

EDII, as the organization is commonly called, was set up with the support of apex financial institutions – the IDBI Bank Ltd., IFCI Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., SBI and the Govt. of Gujarat, in Ahmedabad. With seven regional offices, six international affiliates and 31 branch/project offices, across the country, EDII’s activities are bringing about transformative changes, nationally and internationally. In Southern Region, with a mega office in Bangalore, EDII is majorly working with corporates and government, and is implementing new enterprise creation activities across the region and beyond, thus impacting scores of people across different strata of society.

Under the visionary leadership of Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General of EDII, the Institute has achieved unparalleled success, establishing entrepreneurship as a preferred career option, and has also convinced corporates and government about adopting and implementing entrepreneurship related initiatives to achieve empowerment of diverse target groups, leading to inclusive growth.

As EDII’s new mega office gets inaugurated in Bangalore on August 31st, its worthwhile to emphasize some of the pioneering activities undertaken for the entire Southern India.

EDII is successfully associated with Corporates in implementation of several development projects, thus ensuring inclusive growth of communities. Under CSR initiatives, the Institute has targeted skill building and new enterprise creation in a host of sectors including, agro and food processing; handicrafts and handloom, non-farm and agri-allied entrepreneurship; rural entrepreneurship; tourism sector, and several more. Activities ensure a high incidence of New Enterprise Creation, generation of livelihood opportunities as well as employment opportunities.

68,950 People, including more than 10,000 women; representing 23 states; 138 districts and 741 villages have been impacted through CSR collaborations.

Noted corporates collaborations include: Vedanta Alumina Limited (VAL)- Project Udyogini; ACCENTURE – Skills to Succeed Project and WeACT (Access Connect & Transform) Chamber of Commerce for Women; Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) -Micro Skill Entrepreneurship Development Programmes for 1000 youth/women in Karnataka state; HSBC Bank – HandMade in India (HMI) Project; TATA Communications Ltd.- Project UDAYA; Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) – Project Athak Bharat; Utkal Alumina International Ltd (UAIL) – Project UDAYMEE; Reliance Foundation- Training of trainers on Micro Enterprise Development; Adani Enterprises Ltd. (Mining Division) – Training Programme for Microenterprise Facilitators on Enterprise Promotion and Handholding Women Entrepreneurs; SBI Foundation – Project Swavlamban; ICICI Foundation- Economic Empowerment of Languishing Craft Artisans; TATA Power- Project AAROHAN; Xiaomi Technology India Private Limited- Project SPARK; IFCI Limited – Project PRERNA: Promoting Entrepreneurship by Rejuvenating and Nurturing Aspirations; National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) – New Enterprise Creation among Underprivileged Women and many more significant projects under the aegis of noted Corporates.

EDII’s Southern Regional Office is also associated with significant and pioneering Government Projects, focussed on creating sustainable livelihood opportunities. For instance, under the Ministry of Rural Development’s Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme ( SVEP), EDII as a National Resource Organization is generating rural livelihood and employment in 82 blocks across 15 States, through training and handholding support. In Southern India, EDII has a presence in 3 Blocks of Telangana, leading to establishment of 3906 enterprises.

Opining at the expanse of activities, Dr. Sunil Shukla, Director General of EDII, said, “EDII has been successfully recognising opportunities and offering entrepreneurship and skill development training to artisans, weavers, women, startups and unemployeds, leading to sustainable livelihood / micro enterprise options for them. The Institute has been training and orienting those at the grassroots to set up new enterprises for material and social wellbeing. I am glad, that with corporates and the government endorsing the power of entrepreneurship, we will continue to progress with remarkable results”.

Dr. Raman Gujral, EDII’s Southern Regional Director, opined, “Eco-friendly income generation opportunities are the need-of-the-hour. So, with this objective, we train a diverse section of people, with special focus on women to identify opportunities, harness indigenous resources, align their skills with identified opportunities, and establish sustainable, eco-friendly micro and small enterprises.”