Kerala on the track to set up 1 lakh MSMEs in current fiscal: Minister

Kerala is surging towards meeting its target of setting up one lakh MSMEs in the current financial year, with 13,137 enterprises in the micro, small and medium sector already registering in the first two-and-a-half months of FY 2022-23, Minister for Law, Industries and Coir P Rajeeve said on Thursday.

“This has brought in an investment of Rs 982.73 crore so far this fiscal, giving employment to 30,698 people,” he said after inaugurating the state government’s three-day ‘Vyapar 2022’ business-to-business meet in the city, setting the stage for 350 entrepreneurs to strike partnerships with 500 buyers from across the country.

Also read: MicroGO raises Rs 6 crore to strengthen sales & marketing

Facilitating around 10,000 B2B meetings, the June 16-18 event will boost the administration’s renewed pro-industry measures to project Kerala as a prime business destination before the rest of the country, the Minister noted at the event, being organised by the Department of Industries and Commerce, at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium Ground. Sustained efforts to strengthen MSMEs have led to recruitment of 1,155 interns at the panchayat level to train entrepreneurs. “A chunk of them are MBAs,” he revealed.

The minister said KINFRA is working on a permanent exhibition-cum-convention centre in the city. Envisaged to be completed in October 2023, the project is coming up in suburban Kakkanad, he added. Kochi Mayor M Anilkumar, in his presidential address, said a positive change in the approach of the stakeholders can revolutionise the MSME sector in the state. Industries and Commerce Director S Harikishore, welcoming the gathering, said Kerala was poised to realise its target of giving employment to four lakh people in the MSME sector.

A major objective of Vyapar 2022, which will be open to the public on Saturday (June 18) from 2 PM, is to give an impetus to the pandemic-hit MSME units. The event provides them a platform to showcase the quality of their products, technological competence and skills before the industrial community. Besides buyers from top commercial establishments, representatives of all-India trade and commercial organisations, business consortiums, e-commerce executives, exporters and consumers are converging at the conclave to make business deals.