IMI Kolkata Partners with West Bengal State Rural Livelihood Mission to Strengthen Grassroots Entrepreneurship

Kolkata, July 01, 2026: IMI Kolkata, part of the RP Sanjiv Goenka Group, has partnered with the West Bengal State Rural Livelihood Mission (WBSRLM) to launch an intensive 60-day residential capacity building programme aimed at strengthening rural entrepreneurship across the state. The initiative will deploy trained facilitators across 13 One Stop Facilitation Blocks spanning 8 districts of West Bengal, under the Department of Panchayat and Rural Development, Government of West Bengal.

The programme targets Business Development Service Providers (BDSPs), Community-Based Organisation representatives, and grassroots enterprise mentors, equipping them with structured management tools to support women-led Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in building viable and scalable enterprises.

The curriculum spans 44 topics across two modules. The Foundation Module, covering the first 35 days, focuses on fundamentals such as financial literacy, pricing, sales, marketing, and business planning. The Growth Module, over the remaining 25 days, equips participants with strategic tools to help enterprises move from subsistence towards expansion. Participants also gain hands-on exposure to digital commerce platforms including ONDC, Amazon Karigar, Amazon Saheli, and IndiaMART, alongside AI-powered business planning tools, digital bookkeeping, FSSAI food safety compliance, and MSME support frameworks. Each session is structured around a real-life video case study, expert-led instruction, and group discussions, concluding with a capstone project centred on a real business problem.

On completing the programme, BDSPs return to their districts to work directly within SHG networks — mentoring rural women entrepreneurs, conducting business diagnostics, facilitating market linkages, and supporting their transition from livelihood earners to growth-oriented entrepreneurs.

Dr. Mohua Banerjee, Director, IMI Kolkata, said, "IMI Kolkata has always believed that management education carries a responsibility beyond the classroom. This partnership with WBSRLM is an expression of that belief. By equipping BDSPs with the tools, frameworks, and digital capabilities they need, we are not just training individuals. We are building an ecosystem that will directly shape the economic futures of thousands of women entrepreneurs across rural West Bengal."

The programme has been designed with scalability in mind, with trained facilitators embedded within SHG networks across districts. The broader aim is to create a rural entrepreneurship ecosystem that generates livelihoods, strengthens local economies, and can be replicated across West Bengal over time.