Fast Growing MSMEs can arrest unemployment in India

Insightful perspectives, innovative ideas and new possibilities to catalyse #massentrepreneurship discussed at the The/Nudge Forum #charcha2022

A day filled with deep conversations, thought-provoking insights and impactful talks on some of the most pressing issues and opportunities around sustainable livelihood.? With a cross-section of India’s policymakers, thinkers and doers on and off the stage, The Nudge Forum Charcha- 2022 held on Aug. 4 in Delhi was the event to attend for the social impact ecosystem of the country.?

Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) hosted the Entrepreneurship track designed to uncover the full potential of Mass Entrepreneurship to create millions of sustainable decent jobs.

The panel discussion on the National Entrepreneurship Mission (NEM) brought together Ms. Manisha Verma Secretary , Department of Skills, Employment, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Government of Maharashtra), Shri Sivasubramanian Ramann ( Chairman and Managing Director, SIDBI(Small Industries Development Bank of India) , Dr Raajiv Singhal (Member, Confederation of Indian Industry National Committee on Skill Development & Livelihood and CEO, Marengo Asia Hospitals ), Mr. Sharad Sharma (Co Founder, ProductNation/iSPIRT Foundation), and Mr. Madan Padaki (Strategic Advisor, YuWaah India at UNICEF ) which was preceded by the keynote address by Mr. Ravi Venkatesan (Chairman at Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet and Founder- GAME). The speakers deliberated on what it takes for the ecosystem to act in mission mode to make entrepreneurship a mass movement across the country with a time-bound urgency.??

GAME also focussed on two other important areas critical to the success of mass entrepreneurship: Solving Delayed Payments and a Women Entrepreneurship Scorecard.

The panelists for the session Solving #DelayedPayments?for Job creators were Dr. Arun Singh (Global Chief Economist at Dun & Bradstreet ), Mr. Varad Pande (??? ??????) (Partner, Omidyar Network India ), Mr. Ram Kuppuswamy (Chief Procurement and Supply Chain Officer at heromotocorp ), Ms. Basant Kaur (Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer, India, C2fo), Mr. Anil Bhardwaj (Secretary General, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises ; Member of Governing Board EDII) and Mr. B N Mishra Mishra (Senior Advisor, Indian Bank Association (IBA), Former CGM, Punjab National Bank ). Moderated by Ms. Mahalakshmi Narayanaswamy Senior Consulting Editor, moneycontrol.com ), the panel delved into the devastating impact of delayed payments on MSMEs revealed through some staggering facts and hard-hitting observations of the situation such as normalizing behavior and power asymmetry between buyers and sellers.? More importantly, right approaches to feasible solutions were discussed including capacity building around Samadhaan,? tighter regulatory measures, market-solutions like invoice discounting and sustained moral appeal from responsible buyers to persuade delinquents in the ecosystem.??

One of the most underrepresented sections but with the most potential are women entrepreneurs. Fragmented information, lack of a focussed approach and hardened gender-biases have all greatly hindered the creation and? growth of women-owned enterprises. The first decisive step to address the barriers to women entrepreneurship is to measure the current entrepreneurial activity of women accurately and using the right attributes.?

This points to the?need for a #womenentrepreneurship Scorecard that can track relevant metrics in different states? that can feed into a state-level and ultimately a national-level policy of women entrepreneurship. The panelists that discussed the topic from its ideation and challenges to its broadest scope,?included Ms. Sairee Chahal (Founder SHEROES ), Ms. Sharon Buteau (Executive Director LEAD at Krea University ), Ms. Nidhi Bhasin Bhasin (CEO, nasscom foundation ) and Ms. Aparajita Bharti (Co-Founder, The Quantum Hub ) moderated by Ms. Sanjana Govindan ( Vice President, Women Entrepreneurship, GAME). The in-depth conversations went into? the current status of measuring women entrepreneurship in India, the indices that must be measured and interventions necessary to make this possible. Filled with engaging conversations and insightful questions, this discussion provided a lot of insights for the next steps ahead.?

We know right conversations are the beginnings of greatly impactful work that lie ahead. . This partnership with?the Nudge Forum is sure to illuminate? many hidden pathways to the art of the possible that can help transform the state of sustainable livelihood in India for better.?

Suresh Gundappa Swathi Murali Shristi Singhania Anushka Thachil Samikhsya Nanda Mekin Maheshwari Sajan PK Ramesh Dharmaji