Projects - Fida International

Regional Micro Enterprise Project

Poverty is still India’s grimmest reaper. A large section of India’s population still lives below the poverty line without access to the most basic needs—food, clean water, housing, healthcare—simply because they cannot afford them. Seventy-seven percent of Indians live on less than Rs 20 a day, according to a recent report by the state-run National Commission for Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector (NCEUS) which also pointed out that most of these people are from the informal labour sector with no job or social security. There is a strong link between poverty and lack of livelihood options. Undeniably, the development of sustainable livelihoods is something that requires urgent attention. Micro enterprise development expands livelihood opportunities for people in rural areas who have few other options and is a crucial component for sustainable livelihood development. But for micro enterprises to be effective, people need training and technical know-how as well as access to expertises, business partnerships and market networks. The India Regional Micro Enterprise Project works toward incorporating micro enterprise development within the larger framework of Fida’s community development programmes in India. Through this project, our local partners in various regions are provided strategy and training so that they can help people in their communities successfully establish micro enterprise schemes. Fida provides programme strategy, technical knowledge and comprehensive training on micro enterprise development and helps to create a network of business partnerships. The project is implemented in India along with partners such as Assemblies of God, Mumbai; Assembly of Believer’s Church, Allahabad; New Life Assembly of God, Chennai; and the Full Gospel Churches of India, Machilipatnam. Apart from working closely with these four partners, Fida also provides training and consultancy on micro enterprise development to other projects that it partially or fully supports. Project partners help to draft a model micro enterprise training curriculum suitable for existing project settings. This year, the project aims to oversee the establishment of 60 new micro enterprise projects which will directly improve the lives of disadvantaged target communities. The international partner for this project is MP Leo Kivisalo Oy, a Finnish trading company, which consults with Fida International under the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs business partnership programme, Finnpartnership.This partnership programme provides advisory services for the businesses of Finnish companies that work in developing countries, and financial support in the planning, development and implementation phases of a project. MP Leo Kivisalo Oy aims to use the proceeds from profit businesses to help development work.