NCUI Incubation Centre churning out batches of smart women

If you happen to meet a smart woman working in the office of South Delhi’s Deputy Commissioner, don’t get surprised. During a short period of time the NCUI Incubation Centre has churned out many such women who are not only working in several offices but also earning both money and trust of people in the process.

In less than a year of its inception, more than 50 community meetings have been organized so far and over 2,000 women from the economically weaker sections of society in Delhi have been mobilized through awareness drives, informs NCUI CE Sudhir Mahajan, visibly happy with the results.

“Over 150 women from South Delhi have been trained so far in four batches. Many of them have come forward to register a multipurpose cooperative society too. In addition to this, CEDC has collaborated with renowned institutions like Rural Technology Action Group of IIT

Delhi, National Institute of Fashion Technology, NITCON Limited, and PYXERA Global to further enrich the training framework with low-cost technologies and innovative marketing approaches and product design options”, stated Mahajan.

Echoing Mahajan, Sumit Singh, the consultant hired by the NCUI for such out-of-box ideas said “More than 20 SHGs, covering 220 women, have been formed and 15 SHGs have opened their accounts in the NCUI branch of Delhi State Cooperative Bank. The entrepreneurship development programs at the Incubation Centre have been extremely fruitful and a majority of the trainees have registered themselves to get enrolled for PAN, Aadhar, zero balance bank account, ABHA, MSME, FSSAI, Shramyogi Maandhan Yojana and other welfare schemes of the government.

They have hands-on experiences using online payment applications, digiLocker, etc. Instructed through training sessions at the Centre, as if causing a chain reaction, these women are making their family members and neighbours aware about these schemes and applications. The trainees have learned to create their accounts on popular social media platforms and they are using it for branding and promoting their products. Many of the women trainees who are engaged in the food business have also earned their FSSAI license.

Dr. Monica Priyadarshini, IAS, Managing Director, State Urban Livelihood Mission (SULM), Delhi and District Magistrate, South Delhi visited the NCUI Incubation Centre recently and appreciated its training approach and impact. She even invited CEDC to work in collaboration with SULM and register Area Level Federations of SHGs as cooperative societies and provide training on enterprise development to Delhi’s SHGs.

In addition, the NCUI Incubation Centre’s 2 pass-out trainees and 1 resource person have been invited by SULM to provide training to the selected SHGs of Delhi on Gulaal (colours used in festivals), Banarasi and Kolkata Chaat (Indian snacks items). R. Vanitha, Chief Director, National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), has also visited the Incubation Centre and promised support to the initiative through the schemes of NCDC.

The sustainable approaches developed at the NCUI Incubation Centre have been fruitful in providing solutions to some of the key challenges faced by cooperatives through diversification and the application of technology.

Many cooperative institutions like Astha Women Cooperative Bank (Bhopal) and Mahesh Bank (Hyderabad) have approached NCUI for replicating the Incubation Centre project in the interest of their members.

The RWAs of South Delhi are also supporting the initiative by inviting the trainees to put up stalls during their events. The eco-friendly products being displayed at the NCUI Haat are being appreciated by local citizens too.

Buoyed by the overwhelming response received from all stakeholders, which has further boosted the confidence in expanding the sphere of NCUI Incubation Centre; and in leap and bounds, new dimensions will soon be introduced into diversifying training activities to measure up to the expectations of the target audience in the near future, asserted Mahajan while talking to the Indian Cooperative.