Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said that the hardships he faced during his days of entrepreneurship before entering politics made him create an ecosystem for entrepreneurs when he came into power.
He was speaking as chief guest at the Impact Week 2024 held at Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU here. The programme held by Prime Meghalaya in collaboration with MLCU is to create a spark among the students and to give them the opportunity to choose entrepreneurship as a career. Also present was Commissioner and Secretary (Education), Vijay Mantri.
Addressing the gathering of students aspiring to be entrepreneurs from different colleges of the city, Sangma, recalling his days of entrepreneurship before entering politics said that being an entrepreneur in those days has impacted him to a great extent.
“Therefore when we came to government I was very clear in my mind that we will create an ecosystem for entrepreneurs which I did not have in my times,” Sangma said.
Sangma also said that changing the mindset is very important for it is important to see things not as problems but as opportunities for it is here that an entrepreneur steps in to provide solutions that are practical and feasible and also financially viable.
He also lauded the different presentations of students during the occasion and said, “You have showed a great level of confidence and the way you have approached to the problems in Agriculture, Tourism, Management of Waste, Transport and Communication is crucial for an entrepreneur it is important to identify and diagnose the problem and to provide solutions.”
The chief minister also highlighted some of the programmes of the State government for entrepreneurs like Prime Meghalaya, CM Elevate, Chief Minister’s E Championship etc and urged the gathering to take advantage of these programmes.
Prime Meghalaya in its initiative to promote entrepreneurship to the youth, has funded and supported 15 academic institutions across the state for conducting Entrepreneurship Development Programmes and producing promising entrepreneurs and startups.
Impact Week 2024 is a dynamic two weeks’ programme, organised by the E-Cell of MLCU in collaboration with Prime Meghalaya and Impact Week, designed to promote innovation and entrepreneurship through Design Thinking.
The event kicks off with a three days ‘Train-the-Coach’ phase, where selected faculty members from 15 institutions across the State undergo intensive training from experienced senior coaches.
Following this, is the Design Thinking Challenge phase, where newly trained junior coaches lead students from across the 15 institutions to tackle real-world challenges in sectors like unemployment, waste management, transportation, sustainable tourism, and agriculture.
The programme aims to equip participants with essential skills in innovation, customer focus, implementation, fostering sustainable growth and community engagement. Successful participants get the opportunity to scale their solutions through incubation by Prime Hub.
