A two-day workshop titled Business Ideation and Entrepreneurship: Workshop for Naturopathy Physicians was held on November 13-14, 2024, at the Nisarg Gram campus of the National Institute of Naturopathy (NIN) in Pune.
Organized jointly by VAMNICOM and NIN under the aegis of the 71st All India Cooperative Week, the event focused on empowering naturopathy physicians to explore innovative business models in healthcare through cooperatives.
The workshop, aligned with the Cooperative Week’s theme, “Role of Cooperatives in Building ‘Viksit Bharat’,” highlighted cooperatives’ crucial contribution to India’s socio-economic transformation. It underscored their role in achieving the $5 trillion economy goal by 2025 and fostering sustainable, inclusive growth in rural and urban healthcare sectors.
A total of 33 naturopathy physicians from 10 states and one Union Territory participated, gaining insights into cooperative structures, business ideation, and entrepreneurship. The program equipped participants with the knowledge to form and manage health cooperatives, fostering “self-health reliance” and addressing lifestyle diseases through naturopathy.
The event was inaugurated by Dr. K. Satya Lakshmi, Director of NIN, and Dr. Hema Yadav, Director of VAMNICOM, who emphasized the synergy between cooperative principles and naturopathy, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s ideals. Experts and faculty from VAMNICOM and NIN shared technical knowledge on cooperative management, entrepreneurship, and funding opportunities, including through the Ayushman Sahakar Scheme.
During the valedictory session, Dr. Mahesh Kadam, Associate Professor at VAMNICOM, discussed funding avenues for health cooperatives, while Dr. Shyam Narayan Pandey, Senior Naturopath and Chancellor of The Global Open University, highlighted the growing role of naturopaths in India’s healthcare system.
By 2030, an estimated 35,000 qualified naturopaths could create livelihoods for 350,000 individuals through cooperative entrepreneurship.
This collaborative initiative showcased the transformative potential of health cooperatives in shaping a self-reliant and innovative healthcare ecosystem in India.
