MEPMA’s Initiative Towards Making Every Household an Entrepreneurial Hub.

 MEPMA’s Initiative Towards Making Every Household an Entrepreneurial Hub

 The Honourable Principal Secretary of the Department of Municipal Administration and Urban Development, Mr. S. Suresh Kumar, IAS, and Mission Director of MEPMA, Mr. N. Tej Bharat, IAS, participated   

 The MEPMA State-Level Livelihoods & Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (LEAP) Workshop was held at Avantaa Banquet Hall, Tadepalli

Tadepalli (prajaamaravati): 

       In alignment with Honourable Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu's garu vision of cultivating at least one entrepreneur in every household, and under the guidance of Municipal Administration Minister Sri P. Narayana garu, MEPMA (Mission for Elimination of Poverty in Municipal Areas) is moving forward with a comprehensive action plan. As part of this initiative, MEPMA conducted a state-level Livelihoods & Entrepreneurship Acceleration Programme (LEAP) workshop today at Avantha Banquet Hall in Tadepalli, aimed at mobilizing Self Help Groups (SHGs) at the grassroots level.

The workshop provided direction to MEPMA staff on how to enable entrepreneurship within families. The session featured guidance from Sri S. Suresh Kumar IAS, Principal Secretary of Municipal and Urban Development Department, and Sri N. Tej Bharat IAS, Mission Director of MEPMA.

The workshop focused on:

- Capacity building for City Mission Managers, COs, and TE-LHs

- Identifying viable SHG businesses

- Market access strategies

- Digital formalization techniques

- Training staff to become mentors and counsellors

Topics also included cluster development, promotion of women SHG clusters, and digital tools like dashboards, feedback systems, and performance tracking. MEPMA is aiming to nurture 30,000 entrepreneurs during 2025–26, and staff were briefed on the roadmap to achieve this.

MEPMA is already implementing the LEAP project in collaboration with the India SME Forum, helping women SHGs transition into business ventures by equipping them with entrepreneurial skills.

The mission focuses on:

- Promoting sustainable and inclusive business growth in SHG families

- Identifying and developing top-performing SHG enterprises

- Establishing mentorship and support systems at the urban level

- Increasing income levels and enhancing market access

An action plan is already underway. Phase-1 audit has been completed in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, and Tirupati municipal corporations. Data of nearly 400,000 SHG members was analyzed by India SME Forum and MEPMA staff.

Phase-2 audit has begun this month across 14 municipal corporations. From the LEAP audits conducted so far:

- 590 individuals were recognized as Star Performers

- 8,533 were identified as Potential Performers

- 29,251 as Aspirants

In the event held today, Hon'ble Principal Secretary to the Government, Municipal Administration and Urban Development Department, Sri S. Suresh Kumar, I.A.S., MEPMA Mission Director Sri N. Tej Bharath, I.A.S., Sri Vinod Kumar, President of India SME Forum, Project Directors from all districts, MEPMA City Mission Managers, COs, and TE-LHs participated.