The Indian Micro Enterprises Development Foundation (IMEDF), in partnership with PRADAN, conducted a two-day Executive Training of Trainers on Enterprise Development. This initiative was organised under the Center for Social Innovation & Inclusive Entrepreneurship platform, on 19th and 20th May 2025 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Over two days, the workshop moved beyond theory to rooted, community-led enterprise planning. The sessions laid down key concepts such as the basics of entrepreneurship, methods to identify potential entrepreneurs, and an overview of enterprise support services. Participants were trained in essential business plan components such as technology, finance, market linkages, capacity building, and the legal and institutional frameworks needed to sustain rural enterprises.

The workshop emphasised experiential learning through tools like the Business Canvas and Persona frameworks, allowing participants to simulate real-life enterprise journeys. A key highlight was the Comic Workshop and Community Canvas - participatory exercises in our deep listening tools that enabled participants to visualise stakeholder aspirations and uncover the complex interplay of needs, resources, and barriers particularly in the rural geographies of Chhattisgarh.

Systems Mapping exercises offered a dynamic understanding of the enterprise ecosystem by shedding light on the relationships among institutional actors, value chain enablers, and community networks. This was particularly effective in contextualising the assigned enterprise models such as goatery, backyard poultry, maize, pulses, and vegetable value chains.

By the end of the workshop, local insights had been translated into grounded, actionable enterprise plans - demonstrating how vernacular wisdom, when combined with systemic thinking and strategic facilitation, can become an effective catalyst in rural entrepreneurship.

Testimonials

1. “Community Canvas is a very promising tool for conducting an icebreaker session with the community and women to know their ecosystem soundly.”
   — Aruna
2. “Comic Workshop is an innovative and fun tool to chart the dreams and motivations of women entrepreneurs.”
   — Kundan
3. “Personas provide a clear glimpse of the entrepreneurial maturity level - from early adopters to budding entrepreneurs - helping tailor training and support services effectively.”
   — Jyoti Bhushan Tiwari