THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: About 1,500 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSME) were started in the state in April, the first month of the “Year of Enterprises” announced by the Industries Department. The department targets one lakh new MSMEs in the state for the 2022-23 financial year.
Only 882 new units were opened last April as the state was fighting the Covid-19 pandemic. October saw a significant increase in the number of new units when 1,599 enterprises were registered. Since then, the numbers showed an upward trend, touching 1960 in March. “We are collecting data from districts. Over 1,500 new units were registered in April 2022. The exact number will be known in a few days,” said an officer. He said the participation of local self-governments will help the department to achieve the target of one lakh new enterprises. As many as 15,285 units were opened in the previous fiscal.
The MSME clinics, an initiative by the Industries Department to address the different issues faced by existing and aspiring entrepreneurs, will start functioning this week. Though the project was launched in February the clinics are yet to be opened. Sources from the Industries department said that the fund for the project has been sanctioned and the clinics would start functioning in all districts from this week.
The department has decided to launch a handholding system in the wake of complaints about difficulties faced by some entrepreneurs in obtaining a license from different government agencies. Some others faced difficulties in sourcing funds and marketing. The clinics will provide advice to entrepreneurs, both existing and aspiring, in ten broad areas including finance, export, tax, marketing, law, DPR preparation, GST, technology, consents, licenses, and banking. The clinics will function as per the schedule prepared by the District Industries Centre’s (DIC). The entrepreneur need not pay any fees for the service as the consultation charges will be met by the DICs from the fund provided by the Industries Department.