NIESBUD hosts Workshop on Entrepreneurial Growth and Digital Market Expansion

#NIESBUD

Chandigarh: The National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) inaugurated a comprehensive two-day event aimed at fostering entrepreneurship, strengthening the business ecosystem, and enabling digital market integration for small businesses and startups. The event, held at NIESBUD, brought together key dignitaries, policy leaders, and industry experts to discuss the future of entrepreneurship in India.

Ms. Hena Usman, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) during her address mentioned, “The workshop serves as a valuable platform for participants to engage with entrepreneurs within the ecosystem, providing budding business owners with essential insights into the skilling landscape. The government has launched numerous initiatives designed to maximize benefits for those starting new ventures or scaling up existing businesses. As our Hon’ble Prime Minister highlights, entrepreneurship is more than a mere trend—it’s a key driver of our economy.

Two critical components of entrepreneurship are digital linkages and marketing connections, both of which are necessary to gain comprehensive understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.”

The first panel discussion of the day, “Building a Strong Entrepreneurial Ecosystem – Challenges & Opportunities,” delved into the key barriers faced by entrepreneurs and explored policy interventions and collaborative efforts necessary for success. Panellists, including Shri Yamini Bhushan Pandey, MD and CEO of IIM Lucknow Enterprise Incubation Centre; Shri Naveen Gaur, COO of Indian Institute of Information Technology, Delhi; and Shri Rakesh Kumar from SIDBI, engaged in a thought-provoking discourse on creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurial growth in India.

In a session dedicated to sharing best practices, entrepreneurs from Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh presented their journeys, highlighting the challenges they overcame and the strategies they employed to establish successful ventures. This was complemented by startup founders, including Shri Arvind Kumar of Xmonies and Shri Gaurav Gupta of Bill Clap, who offered insights into their innovative business models and digital-first approaches to scaling enterprises.

The afternoon session transitioned into a critical discussion on “Overview of Digital Growth Strategies: Leveraging GeM, ONDC, and Meta for Market Expansion.” This segment explored how entrepreneurs can optimize digital platforms for business growth, branding, and social commerce. Industry leaders, including Shri Anuj Kumar and Shri Tushar Agarwal from GeM, Ms. Rachita Gupta from ONDC, and Shri Shahnawaz Khan from Meta, shared their expertise on integrating small businesses into large-scale digital marketplaces.