North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. India (NEDFi) on the occasion of its 20th Foundation Day organized an “Entrepreneurs’ Counselling Camp” under the theme “Give Life to Your Business Ideas” at Hotel Acacia, here, Wednesday.
Main speaker of the camp NEDFi Guwahati head office, deputy general manager Ramheu E Zeliang said the bank was looking to finance “serious and hard working” entrepreneurs who would be successful and not “random street people”. He said this was the reason behind organizing the camp.
In his PowerPoint presentation, Zeliang highlighted NEDFi’s activities like financial services, advisory and consultancy division, training and skill development, market linkages, exposure visits, TEDF, nodal agency for disbursement of central subsidies etc.
In this day and age, he said, entrepreneurs were the backbone of a country and in order to leave behind a legacy, one needed to be diligent, sincere, disciplined and not default at any point of time which he said could result in one’s own failure.
Schemes provided by NEDFi as presented by Zeliang are Micro Finance Scheme, MSE Schemes-NEDFi Opportunity Scheme for Small Enterprises (NOSSE), North East Entrepreneurs Development Scheme (NEEDS), Women Enterprises Development Scheme (WEDS), Scheme for North East Handloom and Handicrafts (SNEHH) and Project Finance-Rupee Term Loan (RTL).
Also sharing his experience as a native entrepreneur, Entrepreneurs Associates Thrift and Credit Cooperatives Federation Ltd (EATACOL) Nagaland, chairman Tia Lonchar commended NEDFi for providing loans at a very low interest rate which was projected solely at spurring investment and “giving wings to an entrepreneur’s dreams which no other banks were able to provide”.
He informed that EATACOL has helped 138 entities and enterprises across Nagaland to establish their business and experience financial freedom which he said was the progress report of the help rendered by NEDFi.
Admiring womenfolk in entrepreneurial arena, Tia said women were performing equally or comparatively more than men when it came to business.
He also dwelt on the past when Nagas was in the run after white collar jobs and fear of threat and intimidations from various corners had missed the opportunity and freedom one can attain by venturing into business.
Tia who is also the general secretary of ACAUT said since 2014 there had been a big change in Nagaland and that now the business community was headed for a brighter horizon.
He said Nagaland has 75, 000 registered educated unemployed youth and a similar unregistered number was in search of jobs .
With government jobs facing over saturation, Tia said entrepreneurship was the only viable option to meet the employment need.
Citing examples of entrepreneurial progress in the state, Tia highlighted villages like Longwa in Mon where the infamous poppy cultivation has now turned into large Cardamom cultivation and Zhavame village which was earning huge through cabbage and fruit cultivations.
Relating the information given to him by Zhavame villagers, Tia said the youth who were earlier into other means of unhealthy activities were now actively participating in cultivation and are being highly rewarded.
Earlier, the camp was hosted by NEDFi branch manager Dimapur, Vimeyiel Richa, invocation by Bethesda Higher Secondary School proprietor and founder Reverend Moses Murry while vote of thanks was proposed by assistant manager of the branch Detono Tepa.