Chief Minister, Shri Pinarayi Vijayan today announced a ‘Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme’ to address the issues of shortage of working capital and availability of credit faced by startups and small entrepreneurs.

Briefing the media, the Chief Minister said, “The Covid pandemic has had a major impact on the state’s economy creating a crisis for small entrepreneurs and startups. Due to the closure of trade and disruptions in the supply chain, there is a need to increase domestic production. New opportunities need to be created for those who have lost their jobs in various fields and for those returning from different countries and states. As a solution, the government is coming up with a new plan titled ‘CM’s Entrepreneurship Development Programme’. The project aims to identify 2,000 entrepreneurs per year and plans to launch 1,000 new small and medium ventures every year for the next five years, creating 5,000 new ventures.”

The programme will be implemented through the Kerala Financial Corporation. Selected candidates will be given five days of entrepreneurship training and guidance. KFC will provide loans up to 90% of the project cost subject to a maximum of Rs 50 lakh at 10% interest. The government will give 3% interest as subsidy thereby; the net interest rate will be 7%.

In addition, KFC is launching three new schemes to protect existing establishments from the threat of closure. Working capital loans up to Rs 10 crores will be sanctioned as per the purchase order. Seed loans of up to Rs. 1 crore will be given to enterprises providing socially relevant products or services. Working capital of up to Rs 10 crores will be available to IT companies subject to their valuation by SEBI accredited VC funds. The government will provide 2% for these three schemes.