In a bid to build a more conducive atmosphere for entrepreneurship in the state, the Meghalaya Government officially launched the PRIME Sauramandala Rural Entrepreneurship Fellowship (PSREF) as a joint initiative between PRIME Meghalaya and Sauramandala foundation.

It was formally launched in Shillong as a part of the Chief Minister’s Start-up and Corporate Social Responsibility Week 2022, at the State Convention Centre of Meghalaya.

The programme is a rural entrepreneurship initiative by the Planning Department in collaboration with the Sauramandala Foundation and Rainmatter Foundation.

The fellowship has been co-designed to contribute towards developing the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Meghalaya.

A strong component of the programme is that it provides young change-makers from both within and outside the state with opportunities to actively contribute to the development of underdeveloped rural areas.

As many as 24 passionate and skilled individuals, who share a common interest towards rural entrepreneurship, joined the first batch. The group comprises eight fellows, who are from outside the state and bring an outside perspective, and 16 associates who are from different parts of Meghalaya, and who have a good understanding of the local culture, language and systems.

A total of eight field units of a fellow and two associates were formed and deployed across eight blocks from eight districts of Meghalaya.

Fellows and Associates will be engaged full-time for the duration of the fellowship. The teams will identify the most promising rural (nano) entrepreneurs in the respective blocks and villages, understand their challenges and handhold them during the different stages of their entrepreneurial journey, providing inputs across various aspects — value chain development, machinery, branding & packaging, frugal innovation etc.

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