Ranchi: The Jharkhand Industrial Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (JIIDCO), an arm of the state industry department, will soon rollout MSME Connect Portal, a one-stop support platform for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), across the state.The portal will include the database of all MSMEs existing in Jharkhand and will help them connect with each other, get information on the various govt schemes available to support their businesses, and also enrol for various training programmes and workshops organised by the govt.
This initiative will support 15,36,918 MSMEs and Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) of Jharkhand currently registered with the Udyam Portal of Ministry of MSME.The key highlight of the portal will be a diagnostic tool that will help MSMEs assess their business health, said managing director, JIIDCO, Varun Ranjan.Talking to TOI, he said, “This AI-powered tool will prove to be very useful for MSMEs. Once an MSME feed in their data, the tool will assess the various aspects of their business, right from raw material sourcing prices, finances, operating margin, sales, marketing, packaging, branding, etc. It will then inform the MSME where they are lagging behind compared to their peers and also help them fix the problem.”Ranjan said unlike bigger businesses, MSMEs do not have the budget to hire consultants who can help them with business improvement and management. “We are democratising consultancy for MSMEs through this portal,” he said.The portal will also help connect manufacturers and suppliers, organise virtual buyers’ and sellers’ meetings, and provide e-learning modules to help MSMEs understand the nitty-gritty of business management.The rollout will take place in phases, with the first phase scheduled for completion by the end of Feb, which will include registration of MSMEs, availability of schemes, and virtual buyer-seller meetings. The second phase, expected to roll out by April 15, will include the introduction of the business health diagnostic tool. The third phase, expected towards the end of May, will include WhatsApp governance, where all the facilities of the portal will be made available to the MSMEs via WhatsApp.At present, 7,78,254 micro, 5,913 small, and 357 medium enterprises are registered in Jharkhand on the Udyam Portal, along with 7,52,394 Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs).
