A six-day Entrepreneurship Development Programme, conducted under the Chief Minister’s Entrepreneur Support Scheme (CMESS), commenced today at the AIC-MTU Innovation Foundation, a Startup Manipur Incubator hosted by Manipur Technical University (MTU). The inaugural ceremony was participated in by distinguished dignitaries, officials, and selected beneficiaries of the scheme.
Prof. W. Chandbabu Singh, Vice-Chancellor of MTU, attended the function as Chief Guest, while Registrar of MTU Ramananda Nongmeikappam presided over the function. Joint Director of Planning and Startup Manipur Dr. R.K. Tombisana and Research Officer H. Homendra Singh also attended as Guests of Honour.
While inaugurating the programme, Prof. Chandbabu congratulated the beneficiaries and said that entrepreneurship would lead to economic growth and self-reliance in the state of Manipur. He called upon the participants to develop an innovative mindset and utilize the opportunity created by the programme to build sustainable enterprises in line with the state’s developmental objectives.
Presiding over the occasion, the Registrar underlined the role of academic institutions in fostering entrepreneurial talent. He reiterated MTU’s commitment to empowering the youth through innovation and enterprise, with entrepreneurship being a catalyst for socio-economic transformation.
Officials from Startup Manipur elaborated on a number of government initiatives: funding, policy frameworks, and capacity-building opportunities to support emerging entrepreneurs. They called upon the participants to avail maximum benefits from the support mechanisms for scaling up their business ideas, particularly in sectors like agriculture, technology, manufacturing, tourism, and handicrafts.
Laishram Jimmy, the CEO of AIC-MTU Innovation Foundation, began the ceremony with an orientation on the goals and curriculum of the six-day program. Business idea development, financial planning, market research, digital innovation, legal compliance, MSME schemes, and pitch building are the topics that will be touched upon in the training. Besides the theoretical sessions, participants will be engaged in hands-on workshops, mentoring sessions, and exposure to successful entrepreneurial case studies.