By Ishfaq A Mir
(JKEDI)
PAMPORE
Women in Kashmir are daring to enter a seemingly daunting task of running entrepreneurial ventures in manufacturing sector and JKEDI has been receiving an encouraging response from such enthusiastic school dropouts.
In a fresh batch of 95 aspiring entrepreneurs including 11 females that passed out from JKEDI on Wednesay after completing the three-week training programme, there were women who opted for manufacturing sector and are ready to take entrepreneurship as their career. Other trained candidates have chosen services and agri-allied sectors as their lines of activity but women seemed to do something uncommon.
Keeping in view the competition and hard work required it is mostly males who venture into this sector, but Aasiya Altaf from Batamaloo, Srinagar has decided to ‘break the myth’ and choose manufacturing of washing powder as her line of activity. “I want Valley to have its own brand of quality washing powder,” said Aasiya.
Another girl from Nusoo Bandipora, Asiya Akbar will be running a machine embroidery unit in her native district.
Perfume manufacturing, Devri stone dressing, lighting and decoration, packaging and finishing of sports good, distribution of FMCG products, walnut packaging, bakery, establishment of USG diagnostic centre, sheep farming and camping agency are some major lines of activities chosen by the latest batch of trained aspiring entrepreneurs.
The participants were trained at Pampore campus of Jammu and Kashmir Entrepreneurship Development Institute (JKEDI) under self employment component of Himayat-a Central government initiative that promotes enterprise-led livelihoods through training, sector exposure, handholding and mentoring support to aspiring micro-entrepreneurs.
The unemployed youth, who are all set to start their own business ventures now, were exposed to a comprehensive training course, Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) to equip them with what they need to start a profitable business.
The trained aspirants will also get financial linkage from JKEDI to start their entrepreneurial ventures.
