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SBI Foundation partners with EDII for skill development of people with disabilities under Project Swavlamban

csr

Mr Shashi Bhushan, Vice President - CoE for PwDs, SBI Foundation (SBIF) with Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII

Ahmedabad, May 23, 2023: The State Bank of India Foundation (SBIF) has partnered with the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII) for the skill development and training of 750 persons with disabilities (PwDs) under SBI’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) project – Swavlamban. EDII will implement the project in Anand, Kheda, Gandhinagar, Ahmedabad, and Aravalli districts of Gujarat.

According to the officials, the main objective of the project is to help PwD entrepreneurs expand their market reach and ensure an increase in their incomes.

Under the project, EDII will provide enterprise promotion training to 750 differently-abled people including 500 individual entrepreneurs and 250 Member Based Organisations (MBOs) entrepreneurs. Ten MBOs will be formed for 250 differently-abled entrepreneurs as a cooperative or Self Help Group (SHG). These MBOs will be provided mentoring and support for network-building, increasing market reach and finance.

As part of the project, a research will also be conducted to draw the attention of government, start-ups, industrial associations, and CSR bodies towards empowerment of people with disabilities, EDII officials said.

Mr Shashi Bhushan, Vice President - CoE for PwDs, SBI Foundation (SBIF) said, “SBI Foundation has been engaging with communities and one of the focus areas is empowerment of PwDs.  To make them self-reliant, we are working hard to sensitize and empower Divyangjan across the country through a large canvas of activities such as awareness creation interventions, skill development, capacity building for self-employment, product development, business financing, and many more. By collaborating with EDII, we aim to achieve those goals. “

Speaking about the partnership, Dr Sunil Shukla, Director General, EDII, said, “Through Centre for Empowerment of Differently Abled (CEDA), EDII has been successfully promoting entrepreneurship, employability, and livelihood activities among the differently-abled. Inclusive growth and development has always remained a key focus for EDII and with this collaboration, we aim to empower differently-abled entrepreneurs and turn them into role models for the society.”

EDII partners with governments and corporates to implement innovation-led projects for inclusive growth.  So far, the institute has worked in over 23 states and 138 districts and impacted 68, 950 lives through various projects and initiatives.

The Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India (EDII), Ahmedabad was set up in 1983 as an autonomous and not-for-profit Institute with support of various financial institutions including IDBI Bank Ltd., IFCI Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd. and State Bank of India (SBI). The Government of Gujarat pledged twenty-three acres for the EDII Campus. 

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