The Bhutanese Leading the way.
The CSI (Cottage Scale Industries) and start-up project is another flagship plan proposed by the government which is aimed at prioritizing on reducing imports and enhancing exports.
As per the new CSI policy, they have envisioned to foster economic growth in line with the cottage industries furthermore, to reduce poverty, promote employment and maintain balanced regional developments.
Tshering Dem, Chief Industries Officer, CSI, MoEA stated that their prior focus in regard to cottage scale industries which falls under the category of businesses operating below Nu 1 mn capital investment, is to promote the entrepreneurship culture and help them navigate through the process of their businesses to grow efficiently.
The department aims to cater to the needs of general public towards building an entrepreneurship mentality as compared to the prevailing notion of glamourizing civil services as the only source of living a fulfilling life.
The context being, “the public can do more in innovating and moving away from the traditional concept in regard to business ideas.”
The project associates themselves by assisting people through a series of entrepreneurial quests and support from not only the government but mini Foreign Direct Investment grants as well.
She stated that, often times people mis-conceptualize that the FDIs would take over control or capitalize on their business ideas but in fact according to the FDI policy amendments, the case is otherwise.
In fact, the prospective FDIs that the project is looking forward to are generous grants from interested investors who would want to chip in their contributions.
The majority of current CSIs are based on agricultural grounds, and with that evident fact, the department wants to encourage these sections of society to innovate on the possibilities that come with it.
The larger weightage of support will be towards the rural entrepreneurs if the ideas converge with the urban businesses, as it is one of the key prospects of the policy to curb rural-urban migration.
She stated that, “Under the flagship we are supposed to support start-ups from end-to-end, which means from the ideation period to the market presence. There will be a 2 years incubation period support where businesses will be provided expertise facilitated training, business related support and opportunities of export events.”
Other than non-farm areas, the CSI development flagship looks at manufacturing, mining, construction and service industries.
The current amendment is based on the existing 6 strategic domains of entrepreneurship ecosystems as mentioned in the CSI policy of 2020.
