Role of MSME towards Innovation and Startup

On 03.07.2023 a motivation speech on "Role of MSME towards Innovation and " was organized by the Entrepreneurship Development Cell and IIC in association with the MSME Business Incubator. The Motivation speech was handled by Shri S Suresh Babuji, Joint Director/ Head of Office, MSME – DFO, Government of India, Ministry of MSME, Chennai from 09.30 AM - 12.30 PM. 95 students and 14 faculties participated. This event was coordinated by Dr K Lakshmi Narayan, Head, MSME Business Incubator, Associate Professor, Francis Xavier Engineering College.

The program started with the welcome address of Dr K Lakshmi Narayan, Head MSME Business Incubator, he welcomed the chief guest and the gathering. He said government allocate funds to support MSMEs in their efforts to innovate and adopt new technologies. Presidential address was given by the Principal Dr.V.Velmurugan, he said that MSME motivates startups with co-working spaces, mentorship, networking opportunities, and access to industry experts to help them grow and scale their businesses. The chief guest Shri. S. Suresh Babuji, Joint Director/ Head of Office, MSME – DFO, Government of India, Ministry of MSME, Chennai said that MSMEs often serve as innovation hubs where new ideas and technologies can be tested and developed. MSME are more agile and flexible compared to larger corporations, allowing students to experiment and adapt to market changes quickly. MSME can act as incubators for startups, providing them with resources, mentorship, and a supportive ecosystem to nurture their innovative ideas. He also said that MSME organize hackathon to develop prototypes, products or services that can address real-world problems. He said these challenges will improve productivity, efficiency, marketing, customer engagement, technology adoption and sustainability of any products. He said MSME organize innovation challenges and competitions to encourage startups to come up with innovative solutions to address specific social, economic, or environmental challenges.

Mr G Simiyon, Joint Director/ Head of Office, MSME – DFO, Tirunelveli, spoke on the MSME hackathon 3.0 for woman and said the objective of the scheme is to promote and support untapped creativity and to promote adoption of latest technologies in MSMEs that seek the validation of their ideas at the proof-of-concept level. Dr Lourdes Poobala Rayen, IIC President, also spoke on the occasion explaining the need to promote entrepreneurship ecosystem in the higher educational institutions He said MSME provides financial assistance up-to maximum of Rs. 15 lakh per approved idea through the Host Institute for developing and nurturing of the idea into prototype. He encouraged the students to apply for the MSME Hackathon 3.0 and make use of the funds to develop the innovative ideas in to products. The session came to end with the vote of thanks by Dr L R Priya, Associate Professor department ECE.