Here - Start-up Kashmir!

Fund Scheme (SCFS) that is part of the JK Government’s “Sher-e Kashmir Employment
and Welfare Programme for the Youth” (SKEWPY). It envisages an integrated package
of support for aspiring young Kashmiri entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 37 years.
Support includes entrepreneurship training, project development, and financing. Financial
support under the SCFS in the form of seed capital up to a maximum 7.5 lakh Rupees is
also offered through an arrangement between the J&K
Government and the JK Bank. The government bears
35% of the project costs in the form of seed capital
and the remaining 65% of the project cost is financed
by JK Bank as loan at an interest rate of 9% per annum.
The SCFS is the only funding scheme in Kashmir
directly focused on youth entrepreneurs. Initiated in
2010, the SCFS scheme was envisaged to provide aspiring first generation youth entrepreneurs
who are unemployed youth an easy way to access start-up finance. With the issue of
youth unemployment at the top of its policy agenda, the J&K Government is apparently
very eager to see that young first generation entrepreneurs are, in fact, able to successfully
access start-up finance. Still a very new mechanism, the SCFS is not yet performing at par
with original expectations, partly because of low uptake - only 1642 12 candidates in the
Kashmir Valley have applied. Only 383 cases have so far been cleared for disbursement of
seed capital by the Steering Committee that oversees this scheme. 13 Apparently, delays in
processing of loan cases at JK Bank are also an issue. The government is in the process of
working out mechanisms to improve the performance of the SCFS.
Gap Analysis – Key constraints of young
people to access start-up finance
Kashmiri youth entrepreneurs
are finding it hard to get the
funding they need to start-up
their enterprises.
Despite the existence of strong financial institutions like JK Bank and the existence of numerous
well-funded and well-intentioned public sector financing schemes, Kashmiri youth
entrepreneurs are finding it hard to get the funding they need to start-up their enterprises.
Many branch managers at JK Bank that we spoke to shared that one contributing reason
is that young entrepreneurs are simply not submitting viable projects and business plans.
One banker we spoke to shared: “We are always ready to finance a viable and profitable
project, but we won’t lend to create a business that is doomed to fail.” While the depth of
thinking and quality of business plans developed by Kashmiri youth entrepreneurs needs
to improve writ large, our study reveals that there are a number of constraints to accessing
start-up finance commonly affecting Kashmiri youth start-up entrepreneurs - including
those young entrepreneurs with viable business plans.
Lack of knowledge, understanding, and awareness of start-up financing
possibilities in Kashmir
Results from the SKYE Baseline Survey suggest that a key constraint to start-up finance
for Kashmiri youth is simply a lack of knowledge, understanding and awareness of the
various start-up financial services and products available in Kashmir through the bank and
public sector schemes. Key findings included:
• 54% of all youth surveyed said that they have no knowledge/awareness about
the available financial products and incentives for entrepreneurship development in
12 EDI Data
13 The Seed Capital Fund Scheme is governed by a Steering Committee that includes representatives of JKEDI, the
Employment Department and JK Bank.
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