Poverty is often related to inadequate income and lack of livelihood and employment. Poverty is described as a severe failure of basic capabilities and five clusters of disadvantages (lack of assets, physical weakness, isolation, vulnerability and powerlessness).
Micro finance is a potent tool not only for poverty alleviation but also because of its role in poverty reduction. Micro finance implies providing the poor especially youth and women with savings and credit facilities to set up or expand business, invest in self employment activities and increase household security. Micro finance enables the poor to save, improve their confidence and household security.
Consumption credit lead to reduced dependence on money lenders, increased food security and enhanced access to health and education. Production credit enables the entrepreneurial poor to undertake income generation activities especially among the youth. Livelihood activities enable especially youth and women to have access to income, enhanced decision making on health, education and consumption among others.
The Micro Enterprises department aims and works for promoting the Income Generation activities of the community, thereby ensuring a sustainable income for the families. The objective put forward by KIDS in this concern is “Skill and Income for All”.
So the micro enterprises department not only focuses on the financial implications but also on a couple of other interrelated factors like Skill of the Entrepreneurs, Sustainability of the Programme, Better Marketing Platforms, and so on.
The programmes initiated by this Department are as follows:
- Skill training on specific micro enterprises for the selected members.
- Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (EDP) conducted for SHGs.
- Financial support and bank linkages for the trained persons to start new enterprises. In this context, 1568 entrepreneurs have started 752 new enterprises during this year.
- Conducted PMRY Training programmes to the emerging new entrepreneurs, in collaboration with the Dept. of Industries, Govt. of Kerala.
- The successful entrepreneurs have participated in many of the exhibitions and trade fairs which helped them to find better and sustainable markets.
- Forward and Backward Linkages provided to the micro enterprises, especially for the security of raw materials and effective marketing of their products and services.
- Professional services to the enterprises through market intelligence, branding, product promotion, etc through different marketing agencies from within the state and outside.
- Associated with KSBCDC (Kerala State Backward Classes Development Corporation), NMDFC (National Minorities Development Finance Corporation) and other banks for starting enterprises for the people from all communities.