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The Kerala government will take all possible steps to promote entrepreneurship and is committed to provide all possible assistance to startups, Director of State Industries and Commerce Department S Harikishore has said.

Harikishore was speaking at a webinar organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) – Kerala State Council on Monday to promote entrepreneurship with the objective of increasing employment opportunities and achieving socio-economic growth in the post-COVID period.

He said more change is expected in the MSME sector as small and medium enterprises do not need a licence for three years.

“There are about 1.5 lakh MSME units in Kerala and all assistance will be given to them. Currently, there are many schemes in place but many fail to utilise it. The government will take all possible steps to promote entrepreneurship and is committed to provide all possible assistance to startups. More changes are expected in the sector as small and medium enterprises do not need a licence for three years,” he said during the webinar.

“There are eight schemes that provide financial assistance to enterprises. Subsidies were also available in the service sector,” he said in a release.

FICCI Kerala State Council Co-Chair Deepak Aswani said as a state that provides a lot of support and assistance to startups, Kerala has a lot of positive elements.

“Kerala has a lot of potential in the areas of food processing, textiles, and agro industry. However, we need immediate steps to increase women entrepreneurship,” he said.

Gurcharan Cheema, Senior Vice President and Regional Head, Amway India; Damodar Avanur, former president of the Kerala State Small Industries Association; John Kuriakos, Managing Director of Dentcare Dental Lab; Central MSME Assistant Director UC Lachitamol; and others participated in the webinar.