It is said that an economy is an effect for which entrepreneurship is the cause. Entrepreneurship development has therefore become a matter of great concern in all countries. But the real problem is how to develop entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship development programmes, or EDPs in short, are deemed to offer the solution to this problem.

Entrepreneurs possess certain traits or competencies, which result in superior performance. The question that arises is whether these characteristics are inborn in the entrepreneurs or whether they can be induced and developed. A well-known behavioural scientist David McClelland at Harvard University made an interesting investigation into why certain societies displayed great creative powers at particular periods of their history. He found that ‘the need for achievement’ was the answer. It was the ‘need to achieve’ that motivated people to work hard and moneymaking was incidental. Money was only a measure of achievement, not its core motivation.

In order to answer the next question, whether this need for achievement could be induced, McClelland conducted a five-year experimental study in one of the prosperous districts of Andhra Pradesh in India in collaboration with the Small Industries Extension and Training Institute (SIET) at Hyderabad. This experiment is popularly known as the ‘Kakinada Experiment’. Under this experiment, young persons were selected and put through a three-month training programme and motivated to see fresh goals. One of the significant conclusions of the experiment was that the traditional beliefs did not seem to inhibit an entrepreneur and that suitable training can provide the necessary motivation to entrepreneurs. It was the Kakinada Experiment that made people appreciate the need for entrepreneurial training (now popularly known as EDPs) to induce motivation and competence among young prospective entrepreneurs. Based on this realisation, India embarked in 1971 on a massive programme of entrepreneurship development. At present, some 700 all India and state level institutions conduct EDPs. This model is followed in other countries too, such as the ‘Junior Achievement’ programme in USA and ‘Young Enterprises’ in UK.

The objectives of EDPs are to develop and strengthen the entrepreneurial quality, to motivate them for achievement and to enable participants to be independent, capable, promising entrepreneurs. The objective is to make the trainees prepared to start their own enterprise after the completion of the training programme.

The course contents of an EDP are selected in line with its objectives. The training duration is about six weeks. The inputs are normally:

a. Introduction to entrepreneurship – Factors affecting small-scale industry, role of entrepreneurs in economic development, entrepreneurial behaviour and the facilities available for establishing small-scale enterprise.

b. Motivation training – Participants are induced and their need for achievement is increased which in turn helps in building confidence and positive attitude. Successful entrepreneurs share their experiences.

c. Management skills – Small entrepreneurs cannot afford expert managers, therefore knowledge of finance, production, marketing and human resource is imparted to them.

d. Support system and procedure – Support available from different institutions is informed and the procedure for approaching them, applying and obtaining support is explained.

e. Fundamentals of project feasibility study – Participants are taught how to carry out the analysis and the feasibility of marketing, organisation, technical, financial, and social aspects.

f. Plant visits – Visits to various industrial plants are arranged which help participants know more about an entrepreneur’s behaviour, personality, thoughts and aspirations.

Although EDPs are well and thoughtfully arranged, there are some misconceptions about EDPs. Lack of proper understanding and clarity has limited the growth of EDPs. Chandramauli Pathak has listed some of the common misconceptions about EDPs which are as below:

a. An end in itself – People think joining an EDP is a privilege, whereas it is indeed a valuable opportunity. An impression is created that joining an EDP means an assurance of finance, license, raw material, market and all other things. This is a wrong expectation on the part of the participants.

b. EDPs are just another training – In addition to training, the whole process of EDP extends to personal counseling and support. Managerial and entrepreneurial capabilities are developed among the participant prospective entrepreneurs.

c. EDPs are measured quantitatively – In fact the success of any EDP is to be measured in terms of how many participants started their own enterprise after the programme. Quality matters more than the number.

d. Trainer is alone responsible – ‘Trainers are not effective’ is the common response. In fact there are other environmental factors which play a critical role in the development of entrepreneurs. Other support institutions are also involved. The responsibility is composite and not that of the trainer alone.

Various target groups are identified for EDPs because every target group has its own needs and constraints. The design for one group may be inappropriate for other group. The various groups usually targeted are :

a. Technical and other qualified participants – The training can be directly related to their qualifications for example, graduates in electronics may be trained to start an enterprise in the electronics industry.

b. Ex-servicemen – They are highly disciplined, hardworking and enterprising. They can be trained in the areas where these qualities are needed.

c. Business executives – Some employed persons may want to start on their own. They may have some innovative ideas, which they are not able to implement where they are employed, either for lack of autonomy or lack of authority. They already possess knowledge of management. What they need is support for launching their own enterprises. Mr Kodolikar, who was the Training Manager in GKW had said, ‘‘if I can manage someone else’s business successfully, then why should I not start my own business?’’

d. Underpriviledged people – All persons from a disadvantaged background cannot be offered employment. Therefore, self-employment is the answer to their development and upliftment.

Agripreneurship

The National Institute of Agricultural extension management, which functions under the Union ministry of agriculture, runs specialised courses for agricultural and veterinary graduates to provide gainful employment in new emerging areas in the sector. It aims at converting agricultural science graduates into agripreneurs by offering them a two-month management training course, followed by a year’s experience of managing their own business under the aegis of the respective agriculture universities/colleges.

While the highest number of success stories are the agri-clinics (consultancy) and agri-business centers (input selling centre), there are others in areas such as agro-eco tourism, fisheries, seed processing and animal production, which have shown tremendous potential.