Chief Minister Conrad Sangma today said the challenges he faced as an entrepreneur before joining politics prompted him to create an ecosystem for entrepreneurs when he came to power.
He was speaking as the chief guest at Impact Week 2024 at Martin Luther Christian University (MLCU). The programme, organised by Prime Meghalaya in association with MLCU, aims to create inspiration among students and give them an opportunity to choose entrepreneurship as a career. Commissioner and Education Secretary Vijay Mantri was also present.
Addressing a gathering of aspiring entrepreneurial students from various colleges in the city, Sangma recalled his days as an entrepreneur before joining politics and said that his entrepreneurial endeavours had a huge impact on him.
“So when I came into power, I was very clear in my mind that I would create an ecosystem for entrepreneurs which was not there in my time,” Sangma said.
Sangma also said it was important to see things as opportunities and not problems, and this is where entrepreneurs step in to provide practical, achievable and economically viable solutions.
He also praised the various presentations made by the students during the ceremony, saying, “You all showed great confidence. The way you tackle problems in agriculture, tourism, waste management, transportation and communications is crucial for entrepreneurs, as it is important to identify and diagnose problems and provide solutions.”
The Chief Minister also highlighted some of the state government’s programmes for entrepreneurs like Prime Meghalaya, CM Elevate and Chief Minister’s E-Championship and urged those gathered to take advantage of these programmes.
As part of its efforts to promote entrepreneurship among the youth, Prime Meghalaya has provided funding and support to 15 academic institutions in the state for conducting entrepreneurship development programs and nurturing promising entrepreneurs and start-ups.
Impact Week 2024 is a dynamic two-week programme organised by MLCU’s E-Cell in collaboration with Prime Meghalaya and Impact Week, aimed at promoting innovation and entrepreneurship through design thinking.
The event will begin with a three-day ‘Train the Coaches’ phase, during which selected faculty members from 15 educational institutions across the state will receive intensive training from experienced senior coaches.
This will be followed by a Design Thinking Challenge phase, where the newly trained Junior Coaches will mentor students from 15 educational institutions to tackle real-world challenges in areas such as unemployment, waste management, transportation, sustainable tourism and agriculture.
The program aims to equip participants with the essential skills in innovation, customer focus, implementation, driving sustainable growth and community engagement. Successful participants will have the opportunity to scale their solutions through incubation by Prime Hub.
