Soon, German expertise in the field of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) will be available to budding entrepreneurs in Uttar Pradesh.

Indian Industries Association (IIA), an MSME chamber, will organise a series of entrepreneur development programmes (EDPs) all over UP in association with the German Ministry of Economic Co-operation and Development.

The partnership programme is being implemented jointly by ZDH (German Confederation of Skilled Craft) and SEQUA — a non-profit subsidiary of Germany’s top business associations.UP has a large MSME base estimated at 1.2 million in both the organised and unorganised sectors.

The EDPs will be product-based. For example in Moradabad, the focus will be on the brassware industry. “We will organise 10-12 EDPs starting from September,” IIA president Anil Gupta told Business Standard recently.

In its later stages, the partnership programme will explore the formation of an Indo-German SME network for mutual business gain.

IIA will empanel specialists and research consultants in different subjects to provide information to entrepreneurs and also hold training sessions for its central executive committee members.

Germany has a large MSME base that accounts for 90 per cent of its industry. Besides, it is mandatory for German MSMEs to be members of an industry association.