Startup Village Entrepreneurship Program – Government Support for Rural Startups

The Indian government launched a programme called the Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP). The start-up program has been designed specifically for young entrepreneurs, especially those who come from the rural parts of India.

Read more to find significant information about the government program, ranging from its meaning and vision to its beneficiaries and implementation.

What Is The Startup Village Entrepreneurship Program?

The Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) is a government program launched by the Government of India as a component of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) and is under the management of the Ministry of Rural Development. The Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme launch date was in the year 2015. The primary aim of SVEP is to aid young entrepreneurs, especially those who come from the rural parts of India, and are working on developing the rural areas.

Objectives

There are some key objectives as outlined in the SVEP guidelines. Some of its major objectives are laid out below in brief points for one’s reference:

• The govt program aims to help as many young entrepreneurs from rural areas as it can so that they can work on their innovative ideas for developing rural areas. The entrepreneurs are selected based on a certain fulfilment of criteria such as the model of the proposed enterprise, ICT techniques, tools for training, etc.

• The SVEP project also provides entrepreneurs with funding opportunities and modes that they can use for building their respective businesses.

• SVEP guidelines also outline the exact ways to help the entrepreneurs, especially during the first 6 months of their start-ups, wherein experts also visit to impart professional knowledge.

Implementation

The Start Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme is managed by both DAY-NRLM and the Ministry of Rural Development. The program is implemented in the following ways:

• A Block Resource Centre - Enterprise Promotion (BRC-EP), a self-funded revenue establishment, is established to monitor the working of SVEP, and a Block Level Federation (BLF) is also established as one of the institutional platforms.

• Following the SVEP guidelines, BRCs are supported by bank coordination systems.

• The program operates through digital platforms so that every action can be recorded and monitored, and hence, transparency and accountability can be maintained.

• Entrepreneurs are given seed capital from the Community Investment Fund (CIF) till the business grows.