With an aim to strengthen the skilling ecosystem and entrepreneurship development in the North Eastern Region (NER), the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology, Guwahati on Tuesday in the presence of Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan and Union Minister of State Subhas Sarkar.

The objective of this partnership is to encourage entrepreneurship, incubation, and start-ups in the North Eastern Region. To support professional development in the areas of management, entrepreneurship, and skill development, and to meet the larger demand for capacity building and entrepreneurship promotion in the NER, the institutes will collaborate and exchange information and resources.

Promising entrepreneurs in the Northeast require adequate funding, improved infrastructure, and financial literacy to establish and grow their enterprises. This collaboration intends to build a conducive environment for the growth of start-ups in the North East Region that will further strengthen all of the crucial elements of an entrepreneur-enabling ecosystem, potentially attracting investor investments.
Meanwhile, the region is teeming with craftsmen, artisans, and resources that might become a substantial source of employment for its citizens.

“This partnership will help create an atmosphere where start-ups and entrepreneurs can flourish in the region by not just supporting and encouraging them but also giving them access to formal training, professional mentorship, and the technical know-how needed to run a successful business. Our aim is to foster an entrepreneurship-enabling ecosystem that promotes innovation and growth in the Northeast,” said Lalit Sharma, Director IIE.

By collaborating on this initiative, both institutes will benefit from each other’s strengths in promoting skill development in the NER at large.
The institutes will together conduct certified courses on entrepreneurship development and also train start-ups. They will also promote educational lectures, workshops, exhibitions, and other knowledge dissemination programmes in the region.

Both institutes will share infrastructure facilities like laboratories, libraries, incubation centres, etc. with each other for the research work of incubates and beneficiaries. Faculties from both institutes will be a part of mentoring, training, workshops, and evaluation juries for the incubation centre.