What is Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP)?

The Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) fosters entrepreneurial growth by enhancing motivation, skills, and knowledge. It focuses on the holistic development of individuals to create competent entrepreneurs, driving economic growth, employment, and regional balance. Discover the core objectives, features, and challenges of EDPs, along with essential government and institutional support.

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Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP)

An Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) is a structured initiative designed to strengthen an individual’s entrepreneurial motivation and equip them with the necessary skills and capabilities to effectively assume their entrepreneurial role. Its core objective is to foster an understanding of motives, motivation patterns, their impact on behavior, and entrepreneurial values.

Core Objectives and Scope

A well-designed EDP typically employs a three-pronged approach:

Motivation and Traits: Developing achievement motivation and sharpening essential entrepreneurial traits and behavior.
Guidance and Information: Providing guidance on industrial opportunities, incentives, facilities, rules, and regulations.
Capability Building: Developing managerial and operational capabilities required for running an enterprise.

It is crucial not to confuse the EDP itself with general informational programs about new business ideas or sources of finance. While these are components, the primary concern of an EDP is the holistic development and motivation of entrepreneurial talent.

Key Features of EDP

Over time, EDPs have evolved, focusing on several key features:

Targeted Selection: Careful identification and selection of suitable candidates for training.
Capacity Building: Developing the entrepreneurial capabilities and equipping trainees with essential managerial understanding and strategies.
Project Focus: Ensuring that each potential entrepreneur has a viable industrial project.
Support Facilitation: Assisting the trainee in securing necessary financial, infrastructural, and related support.
Affordability: Training costs are highly subsidized, often requiring only a token fee and a commitment deposit.

Need and Importance of EDP

EDPs are a crucial tool for socio-economic development and are needed to:

Develop Entrepreneurs: Increase the supply of competent entrepreneurs.
Enhance Skills: Help entrepreneurs develop and improve both technical and managerial skills.
Drive Economic Growth: Act as a catalyst for industrialization and economic growth.
Promote Regional Balance: Facilitate the dispersal of economic activities to different regions, including rural and backward areas.
Create Employment: Provide opportunities for self-employment and entrepreneurial careers, thereby tackling poverty and unemployment.
Optimize Resources: Encourage the optimum use of local natural, financial, and human resources.
Empower a New Generation: Inculcate entrepreneurial capabilities and skills, creating a new generation of business owners.

Objectives of EDP

The objectives are generally categorized into short-term and long-term goals:

Short-Term Objectives (Immediate Goals)	Long-Term Objectives (Ultimate Goals)
Mentally prepare a person for an entrepreneurial venture.	Enlarge the supply of entrepreneurs for rapid industrial development.
Equip the person to analyze the environment and regulatory framework.	Promote the small and medium-scale sector.
Help participants set a goal of life as an entrepreneur.	Facilitate the industrialization of rural and backward regions.
	Provide gainful employment to educated youth.
	Diversify the sources of entrepreneurship.
	Improve the performance of small industries by developing managerial skills.

Structure and Phases of EDP

A typical EDP is structured and conducted in three distinct phases:

Phase	Description	Key Activities
1. Pre-Training Phase	All preparatory activities before the launch of the training program.	Selection of entrepreneurs, arrangement of infrastructure, deciding on guest faculty, publicity, and forming a selection committee.
2. Training Phase	The core execution phase aimed at developing motivation and competency.	Imparting theoretical and practical knowledge; tuning the entrepreneur’s attitude toward the project; developing entrepreneurial behavior, knowledge of resources, and technology.
3. Follow-up Phase (Post-Training)	The review and support phase to ensure the establishment and smooth running of the enterprise.	Reviewing pre-training and training work; providing post-training support to help participants start their projects; evaluating cost-effectiveness.

Role and Importance (Relevance) of EDP

EDPs play a significant role in:

Creation of Employment Opportunities: Leading to self-employment and numerous job opportunities for others.
Capital Formation: Mobilizing idle savings and putting them to productive use for industrial and economic development.
Balanced Regional Development: Accelerating industrialization in backward areas, reducing the concentration of economic power, and controlling industrial slums.
Optimum Use of Local Resources: Enabling the proper utilization of unutilized local resources.
Improved Per Capita Income and Standard of Living: Leading to increased production, wealth generation, and the availability of better quality goods and services at lower costs.
Economic Independence: Promoting import substitution and export promotion, reducing over-dependence on other countries.
Reducing Social Tension: Channelizing the talent of unemployed youth towards self-employment careers.
Facilitating Overall Development: Acting as a catalytic agent for change, setting the industrialization process in motion, and creating a motivating environment.

Government and Institutional Support for EDP

The government and various institutions play a crucial role in promoting and organizing Entrepreneurship Development Programmes:

National Level Institutions (Examples):

Management Development Institute (MDI)
Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII)
Small Industries Development Organization (SIDO)
National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD)
National Small Industries Corporation Limited (NSIC)

These bodies focus on evolving standardized training materials, training trainers, offering consultancy, and creating a multiplier effect for self-employment.

State Level Institutions (Examples):

District Industries Centre (DIC)
State Financial Corporations (SFCs)
Small Industries Service Institute (SISI)

These institutions focus on grass-roots implementation, providing infrastructure, financial assistance (loans, subsidies), grievance redressal, and conducting local development programs.

Government Role (General):

The government supports EDPs through:

Training: Providing need-based technical and entrepreneurial skill training.
Marketing Assistance: Offering specialized agencies (like NSIC) for marketing support, exhibitions, and single-point registration for government purchases.
Promotional Schemes: Implementing policies for land, sheds, quality upgradation (e.g., ISO 9000 reimbursement), and common facilities.
Financial Concessions: Providing excise duty exemptions for MSMEs and ensuring credit facilities through priority sector lending, collateral-free loans (up to a limit), and the Credit Guarantee Fund.

Key Problems of Entrepreneurship Development Programmes

Despite their importance, EDPs face several challenges:

Poor Response from Financial Institutions: Entrepreneurs’ inability to offer collateral security and banks’ reluctance to finance risky ventures shatter the dreams of many potential business owners.
Competent Faculty Shortage: Difficulty in finding and retaining qualified trainers, especially in backward areas.
Overestimation of Trainees: Programs often assume a higher aptitude for self-employment than trainees possess, leading to insufficient skill development for managing risky ventures.
Insufficient Duration: The typical 4 to 6-week duration is often too short to instill basic managerial skills and fully strengthen entrepreneurial motivation.
Lack of National Policy: The absence of a clear, comprehensive national policy hinders consistent and balanced regional development through entrepreneurship promotion.
Infrastructural Deficiencies: Lack of prior planning results in poor infrastructure (classrooms, lodging, speakers) when programs are held in rural/backward areas.
Improper Methodology: The course content is often not standardized, and the organizing agencies may lack clarity on the best approach to achieve program goals.
Flawed Selection Mode: Selection often favors those with existing project ideas, limiting opportunities for all interested candidates.