SIDBI ET MSME Conclave: Stakeholders focus on sustainable growth of Belagavi's industrial ecosystem

The fourth edition of the ET SIDBI MSME Conclave was organised in Belagavi on February 6. The event was organised by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in association with The Economic Times, with an aim to uplift innovation and entrepreneurship in the “sugar bowl” of Karnataka. The event saw a large turnout of MSMEs and industry stakeholders.

The SIDBI MSME Conclave in Belagavi hosted enlightening fireside chat and panel discussions with stakeholders and industry leaders on topics “Atmanirbhar Karnataka: Decoding the Blueprint for Holistic MSME Expansion” and “Unveiling Belagavi's Economic Resilience: Small-Scale Industry Synergy and Entrepreneurial Drive — Catalysts for Innovation and Growth”, respectively.

The conclave began with a speech from Sudatta Mandal, DMD, SIDBI, on “Building Karnataka's Startup Hub: SIDBI's Role in Shaping the Next Decade”. Mandal talked in detail on the measures undertaken by the central government to enable a thriving startup ecosystem. He also highlighted how India has emerged as the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world.

“India is now home to over 1.1 lakh DPIIT registered startups across 763 districts of the country, with nearly 50% of the startups having been based in tier-2, -3 cities,” said Mandal.

This followed a fireside chat with Karthik R, Assistant Director, MSME-DFO, Hubli, who spoke on “Atmanirbhar Karnataka: Decoding the Blueprint for Holistic MSME Expansion”. Karthik talked in detail on how startup founders are increasingly seeking information and awareness to compete globally. “There is a mindset change among startups that we are witnessing on the ground,” said Karthik.

“Our entrepreneurship awareness programmes across various technical institutions are making a big difference in grooming entrepreneurs. 5,400 MSMEs units from Belagavi are currently registered under Zero Defect and Zero Effect (ZED) scheme, showing growing awareness about sustainability-led initiatives in the region,” he added.
Thereafter, Satyaki Rastogi, CGM, SIDBI, shared his insights on the topic “Empowering MSMEs & ONDC Collaboration”. Rastogi discussed in detail how the majority of MSMEs are micro enterprises and don’t have the capability to get formal credit and understand the schemes and facilities available for them. He also pointed out that the bulk of the MSMEs are led by women, but the actual percentage of women-led MSMEs is much lower than the reported 20%.

Thereafter, entrepreneurs and industry leaders came together for an engaging panel discussion on “Unveiling Belagavi's Economic Resilience: Small-Scale Industry Synergy and Entrepreneurial Drive - Catalysts for Innovation and Growth”.

CC Hondadkatti, President, Belgaum Chamber of Commerce and Industries, talked about the overall MSME ecosystem in Belagavi and general problems being faced by the businesses.

Sachin Sabnis, Managing Director, BFPL India, said despite credit flow for MSMEs seeing an improvement over the years, land availability, skilling, marketing continue to remain as big challenges.

Ajit Patil, CEO, RIVOT Motors, suggested that a facility akin to the government's direct bank transfer (DBT) scheme be started for MSMEs and startups that succeed in innovation. “There should be something for MSMEs and startups so that every time you win a trademark, you should get the money automatically,” Patil said.

Karthik Sankaran, CEO, Deshpande Startups, said his facility is home to 900 incubators. “We have the ability to give early stage funding to many startups. But there is a need for more awareness about this among entrepreneurs,” he said.

Leena B Padihari, Proprietor, Alfanzyme Lifescience, talked about how retaining talent in a tier-2 region like Belagavi was tougher in previous years as the workforce used to head to bigger metros, but not anymore. “Being in tier-2 city like Belagavi has given advantages over having a business in Bengaluru such as low cost of manufacturing. This makes us more competitive,” said Prakash Mugali, Founder, Enerzi Group.
T Kulasekaran, AGM, SIDBI, followed up with a presentation on the topic “MSME Finance & SIDBI's Vision for a Strong & Vibrant Ecosystem in Karnataka”. The session ended with a Q&A session with the entrepreneurs and other MSME promoters. Participants raised queries on credit and related documentation with SIDBI.

The SIDBI-ET MSME Conclave is a series of events being held across the nation to bring together MSMEs, policymakers and ecosystem enablers. The summit aims to catalyse the next wave of growth opportunities, foster knowledge exchange, enable networking and help to tackle challenges, so that Indian MSMEs can have sustainable growth.

The event has been organised in Indore, Bhubaneswar and Ludhiana. It is scheduled to be held in Rajkot and Aurangabad also to benefit the MSMEs there.