Contents
Meaning of Entrepreneurial Development Programme (EDP)
Entrepreneurial development programme refers to a programme formally designed to help individuals in strengthening their entrepreneurial skills and capabilities. It is an overall process aimed at improving all those competencies and skills-set of persons that are essential for carrying out the role of entrepreneurial in effective manner. In simple terms, this is academic exercise focused on building up human resources by including them to take up the entrepreneurial functions via motivating and developing the required skills. The entrepreneurial skills are created among individuals via exposure creation to systematically manage their organization.
The entrepreneurial development programme is designed at promoting the small enterprises via tapping latent talents of capable entrepreneurs through training. It equips the person with required knowledge and skills needed for starting and running a business enterprise. In today’s time, this has become a professional task that extensively encourages the development of private businesses. It is far more than just a training where all possible transformations are brought within the individual for turning him/her into successful entrepreneur. Once the participant completes this programme, he/she is able to crystallize his/her vision into action, and launch and manage the business enterprise with excellency. A selection procedure is involved within the entrepreneurial development programme, where only peoples possessing certain minimum initial traits are chosen as potential entrepreneurs for training, in order to develop other needed traits via interventions.
Phases of Entrepreneurial Development Programme (EDP)
There are three phases involved within the Entrepreneurial development programme that are well-explained in points given below: –
Pre-Training Phase
Pre-training phase is regarded as introductory phase where entrepreneurial development programmes are launched. There are wide-spectrum of activities that are performed within this phase, such as:
- Recognition of right location where operations should be initiated like a district or town.
- Choosing the individuals as project leader or course coordinator for coordinating all activities related to EDP.
- Organizing the base infrastructural facilities associated with the programme.
- Performing environmental scanning or industry survey in order to find out the better business opportunities.
- Development of various plans related with the programme, such as promotional activities using electronic or print media, posters, etc., contacting business experts, different agencies and NGOs, printing the application forms, establishment of selection committee, preparation of budget and getting approval form concerned management, and deciding the required-based elements within the syllabus of training programme and contacting guest faculties for training session.
- Connecting with distinct agencies like banks, NSIC, DICs, SISI and so on.
- Organizing number of industrial motivational campaigns for increasing the number of applicants.
Training Phase
The key role of any entrepreneurial development programme is providing training to future entrepreneurs and helping them in establishment of enterprises. The normal duration of EDP varies from 4 to 6 weeks and is generally a full-time course. Programme design clearly explains the objectives, training input and centre of focus.
Generally, it is believed that trainees don’t possess much information about the change due to which new programme is prepared. Once the training programme is terminated, every trainee should appraise himself in order to have clear view about his/her future endeavours.
Post-Training Phase
Post-training phase is also termed as the phase of follow-up assistance. During this phase, all candidates who have successfully completed their training programmes are provided with post-training assistance. It is very crucial as majority of entrepreneurs face lot of difficulties in the implementation of business plan, after completion of their training programme. Therefore, the training organization with the help of distinct counselling sessions offer full support to trainees.
Member such as commercial banks, State financial corporation and District industries centre come all together to provide all possible assistance to entrepreneurs on the basis of mentioned goals:
- Assisting trainees in appropriate manner such that business plan can be effectively realized by them.
- Analysing the progress made so far in the implementation of business plan.
- Evaluation of post-training approach.
- Offering escort services to trainees via taking help from distinct financial and promotional institutes.
In general, the follow-up action tools and meetings conducted after every 3 years of training completion are: Telephonic follow up, team meetings, postal questionaries and individual contact by trainer.
There are several public as well as private institutions offering assistance to entrepreneurs in India. Some of them are National alliance of young entrepreneurs (NAYE), Technical consultancy organisation (TCO), Small industries development organization (SIDO), Entrepreneurship development institute of India (EDI), Small-scale industrial development bank of India (SIDBI), etc.
Importance of Entrepreneurial Development Programme (EDP)
Various importance of entrepreneurial development programme are well-discussed in points given below: –
Formation of Employment opportunities
The Entrepreneurial development programmes (EDP) generates employment opportunities on large scale in both developing as well as under-developed nations. It helps and motivate people for building up and establishing their own business units, thereby enabling them to become self-employed. EDP, by establishing a large number of business enterprises, create abundant job opportunities for other people. When more and more people become successful entrepreneurs, they provide job opportunities to large number of people within their business units.
Effective utilization of local resources
New entrepreneurs utilize the locally available resources in the most efficient manner. Such utilization of resources available in particular area or region plays a key role in overall development of that area at minimal cost. Entrepreneurial development programme guides, educate and teach the entrepreneurs for utilizing the local resources in efficient manner.
Provides adequate capital
Establishment of business enterprises require a large amount of capital. This financial assistance is offered by distinct EDP agencies. The Entrepreneurial development programme institution provide instructions to distinct development banks such as IDBI, SIDCs, ICICI, IFCI, etc, for taking initiatives toward promotion of entrepreneurship.
Enhancing per capital income
The entrepreneurs carry ability to properly organize the factors of production and utilize them in most efficient manner via setting up business enterprise. All these developments result in enhanced production, employment and wealth generation. As a result of all this, the overall productivity and per capital income of economy rises.
Economic Independence
Entrepreneurial development programme strengthens the entrepreneurs for producing large variety of products in big quantities at competitive prices. This also assist entrepreneurs in developing the substitutes of imported products that avoids the company’s dependency on other foreign nations. It ultimately saves large foreign exchange reserve of the country.
Reduction of social tension
A large number of youths and educated people in society are in state of social tension and unrest. They get distracted and are unable to find right direction in their careers due to this state of social tension. Many students get frustrated at not getting the right job after completing their studies. EDP help individuals under such situation by offering them proper guidance, training, assistance and support for setting up new business enterprises. As a result of all this, the people generate self-employment opportunities, thereby bringing down the social tension among peoples in society.
Facilitation of overall development
Entrepreneurial development programmes play an effective role in the overall development of country. It facilitates the development via producing new product, innovative services, low priced consumer goods, employment opportunities, raising the overall productivity and standard of living. All this ultimately leads to overall development of economy and nation.
Prevention of industrial slums
The industrial slums is one of the serious problems faced by most of developed industrial areas. This results in overall burdening of public amenities and also negatively influences the public health. Entrepreneurial development programme provides distinct subsidies, incentives, support for infrastructural development and financial aid to new entrepreneurs for setting up their business units, thereby, avoiding the growth of industrial slums.
Improves standard of living
Entrepreneurial development programmes offer innovative methods and latest technologies to business entrepreneurs for production of large quantities of products at minimal cost. This also enable entrepreneurs in efficiently utilizing the available resources and producing high quality products. More and more peoples are able to utilize the quality products when available at lower prices, and this automatically raises the standard of living for peoples.
Objectives of Entrepreneurial Development Programme (EDP)
The objectives of entrepreneurial development programme are as follows: –
Developing the entrepreneurial motivation
The EDP aims at developing the entrepreneurial motivation among individuals. Training inputs provided under these programmes are focused on inducing and enhancing the need for achieving results among participants. All efforts revolve around inducing confidence and positive attitude in each of the participants towards business. The motivation may be of any type like internal or external, financial or non-financial, etc. EDP denotes activating and directing energy among the individuals. The ultimate goal of this programme is to influence participants toward starting their own business post completion of their development programme.
Analysing the environment
Entrepreneurial development programmes do proper analysis of environment that affects the success of business to great extent. There are numerous environmental factors affecting the business both directly and indirectly, such as natural, economical, social, political, legal, technological, etc. Entrepreneurs learn to analyse the business environment with the help of such programmes. After a proper analysis of all such environmental factors, entrepreneur can easily face the competition and avail best opportunities available in environment.
Selection of project
Selecting the right type of product or project remain one of the major problems faced by entrepreneurs. This decision is very crucial that need to be taken carefully as all future efforts are associated with it. Entrepreneurial development programmes assist and give direction to entrepreneurs for solution of this problem, thereby enabling them in right selection of project or product.
Project formulation
The project report is important area for each business entrepreneur. This report contains all key aspects on business project and plays key role at the initial stage of project. Entrepreneurial development programmes contribute a lot in proper understanding of process and procedure to formulate the project.
Acquiring the basic managerial skills
Managerial skills is needed by every business entrepreneur irrespective of the size of business they are running, either small or large. Having good managerial skills enable the entrepreneur in smooth and successful running of his/her business enterprise. The key objective of entrepreneurial development programme is providing the managerial skills to entrepreneur needed for successful running of business enterprise.
Upgradation of support system and procedure
EDP’s also pay attention on updating entrepreneurs regarding the support available from distinct agencies and institutions for establishing and running small scale business units. This also includes communicating them about the procedure for approaching such agencies, applying and obtaining support from them.
Developing broader view about business
Entrepreneurial development programmes provide gainful self-employment to the interested individuals. They motivate them to go for their own employment instead of working for others in jobs. These programmes present a broader view regarding business to the interested group of peoples. They also provide general knowledge on entrepreneurship regarding the factors affecting small-scale industries, entrepreneur’s role in economic development, behaviour of entrepreneur and the facilities available for setting up small-scale enterprises.
Exposure to project feasibility study
The EDPs provide guidelines for effective study of project feasibility or viability with regard to marketing, social, financial, technical and organizational aspects. All this type of knowledge assist entrepreneurs in future for conducting the feasible study of their business project.
