Excelsior Correspondent
NEW DELHI, Jan 11: The North East Venture Fund (NEVF), which is the first and the only dedicated Venture Fund for the North Eastern Region and was introduced by the Modi government, is gaining popularity among Start-Ups and young entrepreneurs. The Venture Fund Scheme launched by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) intended to promote growth of business ventures and skill development in the region.
Giving an update on the scheme, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh said here today that the Ministry of DoNER had joined with North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd (NEDFi) to set up the North East Venture Fund, the first and the only Venture Fund for Northeast with an initial corpus of Rs. 100 crore. The fund targets to invest in Start-Ups and unique business opportunities to provide resources for new entrepreneurships. The main focus of North East Venture Fund (NEVF), he said, is on early and growth stage investment for mostly the enterprises involved in Food Processing, Healthcare, Tourism, segregation of services, IT, etc.
It is heartening to note, said Dr. Jitendra Singh, that the Venture Fund Scheme which was launched with the initial motivation to provide livelihood to youth of the North Eastern region, has now also started attracting different groups of youths from diverse backgrounds who wish to try their fortunes through the unexplored potentials of the North Eastern region. The investment size with the Venture Fund Scheme ranges between Rs.25 lakh and Rs. 10 crores with a long term horizon of five to ten years, he added.
Dr. Jitendra Singh also noted that the Ministry of North Eastern Region has started the series “Destination North East”, wherein the different facets of Northeast including the entrepreneurship avenues are replicated at different locations across the country. During these events also, an exclusive arrangement is made for offering counseling and assistance to potential entrepreneurs and business Start-Ups.
Meanwhile, Dr. Jitendra Singh today met a series of delegations at his office in North Block, which included a delegation of educationists, who were full of praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for having introduced the National Education Policy (NEP) which they said was the need of the hour. The Minister also shared information about various higher education and specialized institutions set up in different parts of the North Eastern region during the last six years.