More than 26,000 enterprises have been started by the Kudumbashree under the Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) since it was rolled out in 2016-17. The programme is also being implemented in 25 blocks in Kerala, the highest in the country.
The SVEP, a sub-component of the National Rural Livelihoods Mission, envisages supporting rural livelihoods through community-led enterprise promotion at the block level. Under SVEP, existing rural start-up entrepreneurs from families within the Kudumbashree network and those keen on starting non-farm enterprises are identified, equipped with business skills to choose the right enterprise and run these, and given incubation support.
Financial support is made available by linking them with banks. Beyond financial gains, the programme is intended to benefit households and, in turn, communities, especially marginalised sections such as Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe women.
SVEP thus addresses the lack of knowledge on how to run enterprises in a sustainable manner with the support of trained microenterprise consultants (MECs) and the paucity of funds to start enterprises through the block-level community enterprise fund (CEF) that is controlled by the community for providing loans for enterprise development. It also monitors the monthly functioning and turnover of the enterprises using a software.
An important component of the SVEP is the block nodal society for enterprise promotion that selects entrepreneurs, sanctions business plans, gives CEF loans, and ensures repayment. A block resource centre for enterprise promotion functions under the society to provide support for all enterprise-related activities.
The SVEP began in Kerala in two blocks in 2016-17. In 2017-18, the programme was sanctioned for 12 more blocks. In 2021, the State received the approval for its implementation in one block, and the last fiscal, it was launched in 10 more blocks, taking the total number of blocks with SVEP presence to 25. Proposals have been submitted to the Union government for rolling it out in 13 more blocks in the 2022-23 financial year.
In the 11 blocks that were the last to be sanctioned, enterprises have not been started. Detailed project report (DPR) preparation is under way in 10 of them, while in one, the DPR has received the approval, MEC training is over, and setting up of enterprises will begin soon.
The target for enterprise formation has been fully achieved in 13 of the 14 blocks that received the sanction initially. In one, it is expected to be completed by July.
An amount of ₹6 crore is provided to a block under the SVEP that has a 60% Central component and 40% State share.
The Kudumbashree is also implementing the Rebuild Kerala Initiative-Entrepreneurship Development Programme (RKI-EDP) on the lines of the SVEP, with complete funding from the State government.
The RKI-EDP is being implemented in 14 blocks. More than 4,000 enterprises have been set up since July last year against the target of 16,800 (1,200 enterprises in each block). The government has sanctioned ₹75 crore for the programme.
