Describe the initiatives of non-governmental organizations in the context of rural entrepreneurship.
NGOs are expected to play an important role in all conceivable aspects of development as a planner and implementer of development programmes; mobiliser of local resources and initiatives; catalyst, enabler and innovator; builder of self-reliant sustainable society; mediator of people and government; facilitator, supporter and partner of government programmes; agent of demystify technology and disseminate information; factor of transformation, conscientisation and improvement of the poor; and facilitator of development
education, training and technical assistance
Role of NGOs in Developing Rural Entrepreneurship in India!
There is no denying of the fact that development of entrepreneurship has emerged as a national movement due to its strengths to solve the twin problems of unemployment and poverty. In fact, the need for development of ‘spirit of enterprise’ among the target population intensified more during the nineties with the failure of the ‘trickle down theory’ to percolate the development benefits to the masses at grass-root level.
It is against this backdrop, several self- employment and anti-poverty programmes like PMRY, TRYSEM etc., involving some entrepreneurial qualities were introduced by the government as a tool of bottom up mode of development. However, these programmes executed by the Government agencies proved ineffective due to their weaknesses of one type or other.
Such a situation necessitated the NGOs to come out of their traditional bounds like health, sanitation, education, family planning, environment protection, etc., to join a noble mission to entrepreneurs the lesser known target groups (Singh 1992). The government agencies engaged in this activity strengthened the NGOs by co-opting and collaborating with them to reach the lower rungs of the society.
Today, we have several NGOs contributing to entrepreneurship development in the country. The major ones are National Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs (NAYE), World Assembly of Small and Medium Entrepreneurs (WASME), Xavier institute for Social Studies (XISS), SEWA of Ahmedabad, ‘Y’ Self-Employment of Calcutta, AWAKE (Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Karnataka), and Rural Development and Self-Employment Training Institute (RUDSETIs) based in Karnataka.
The NGOs involved in entrepreneurship development can be classified into three types:
1. Primary Level NGOs:
The NGOs who mobilize their own resources, operate at international level and execute developmental activities themselves or through intermediate fall within this category. ACTIONAID, OXFAM, Christian Children Fund, etc. are prominent examples of the primary level NGOs in India.
2. Intermediate NGOs:
These NGOs procure funds from various agencies, impart training, and conduct workshops for target work force. SEWA and AWAKE are examples of intermediate NGOs.
3. Grass Root Level NGOs:
These NGOs are those who conduct field activities by establishing direct contact with the grass-root needy people. Examples of such NGOs are RUDSETIs, ANARDE Foundation (Gujarat), Indian Institute of Youth Welfare (IIYW) of Maharashtra etc.
