Institutionalisation of Rural Entrepreneurship through NGOs: Introspection from the Case Studies

The rural population constitutes a major segment in India. The livelihood strate gies of this vast segment depend primarily on agriculture and allied activities. Growth in this agriculture sector has shown a declining trend during the last one decade. The declining trend is noted in the growth rate of employment and gross domestic production. In the context of this reality, it becomes a primary necessity for institutions and agencies involved in rural development in general and poverty alleviation in particular to undergo a paradigm shift. The bur geoning problem of population and underemployment can be tackled through institutionalising the process and concept of rural entrepreneurship. NGOs definitely have an increasing role to play in this process. The experience of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDI) in implementing Rural Entrepreneurship Development Programmes (REDPs) using training as a strategy has yielded very positive results. This process was carried forward in collaboration with NGOs. This implementation strategy has proved effective. Using the case study methodology, an attempt has been made to understand the success and failure factors towards institutionalising this REDP approach.