Swakalpa

Swakalpa is a unique skilling and entrepreneurial development program in Odisha. It delivers entrepreneurial training to previously sector- or domain-trained candidates. Candidates are expected to be trained in their chosen sector or domain before they enroll for Swakalpa. Swakalpa develops such a candidate further by helping them build a business mindset and skills set during its 100-hour course. Swakalpa also helps shortlisted candidates to set up their micro-businesses/ enterprises or prepares them to be self-employed on the foundation of this newly built mindset and skills set. Swakalpa is also unique because of its components and its process of delivery that is intended to benefit candidates. Swakalpa provides a platform approach by linking candidates to a vast network of partners that deal with various requirements of the candidates such as compliance support, enterprise registration etc. This helps smoothen their journey from setting up businesses to operating businesses. Besides, Swakalpa delivers handholding and mentoring to shortlisted candidates. These stages facilitate market and credit linkages for candidates thus making them market ready and developing their confidence to do businesses. Swakalpa’s most unique feature is a Challenge Fund. This is being setup as a competitive and reward-based system of disbursing funds or investing in the most promising business pitches.

Yes, you can be a mentor even if you live outside Odisha. Click this link to see the eligibility criteria to become a mentor with Swakalpa. The Swakalpa team shall review your application. Remember that Swakalpa mentoring and handholding is designed to be both offline and online.

Swakalpa is designed on a hybrid delivery model (in normal non-pandemic times). All registered candidates get the opportunity to receive training in classrooms (offline mode). All shortlisted and certified candidates from the training module get the opportunity to receive mentoring. Mentoring would be a mix of offline and online modes.

Swakalpa encapsulates the essence & the vision behind the project. The etymology of the name literally means “Self-imagination” ‘Swa’ means someone who is starting a business himself/herself and ‘Kalpa’ implies imagination.

No, you cannot be trained under Swakalpa in an industry other than the one you are skilled in. As a person with a few years of experience in the beauty industry, you are already skilled. Swakalpa provides adds to your existing skills set by training you in how to do business or be self-employed in your own industry as Swakalpa is a self-employment and entrepreneurship development program.

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Yes, you can refer your friends/family including women in the age range of 15 to 45 years, already skilled, and a resident of Odisha to Swakalpa. Share this candidate application form link with them!

Yes, it is possible, provided you: Have your parents’ consent on a form given by Swakalpa during mobilization. Have enough time and commitment to complete the 100-hour training course, do the assigned tasks and do the assessments. If you do well in the training, you may be eligible for 24 weeks of mentoring.

No, Swakalpa mentors are not bound to give jobs to the candidates under mentoring. Swakalpa goes by the value ‘main bhe swawalambi’. The core of Swakalpa is to enable and empower candidates to be self-employed or set-up their own enterprises in their chosen industry. Job placement is not a mandate of Swakalpa.

Yes! Swakalpa’s 24-week mentoring for shortlisted candidates has many features to support a candidate to establish themselves as a well-rounded entrepreneur. These include facilitation of making an investible business plan, facilitation of credit linkages and facilitation of market linkages. In the market linkages component of the project, Swakalpa would facilitate the connection of mentored candidates to markets and market plays. The candidates would then find it easier to market their products/services on a readily available platform of Swakalpa.