Entrepreneurship and Skill Development Programme
Free and subsidised entrepreneurship, skill and management training for prospective and existing entrepreneurs.
What you get
No direct startup funding; training cost supported per programme norms
Nodal ministry
Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises
Support type
Incubation
Best suited for
Ideation
Typical timeline
Rolling programmes through MSME-DFOs and technology centres
What this scheme actually is
ESDP delivers three training modules — Entrepreneurship Awareness, Entrepreneurship-cum-Skill Development, and Management Development — across domains including e-commerce, software, biotech, modern agriculture and genomics. It is not funding, but for a first-time founder it is a structured, subsidised way to acquire the operating knowledge that grant committees later test you on.
What the scheme sets out to do
Who can apply
What you get
How to apply, step by step
- 1
Find your MSME-DFO or technology centre
Programmes run through MSME Development and Facilitation Offices, MSME technology centres and other implementing agencies.
- 2
Apply for the relevant module
Awareness programmes are short; skill development and management development run longer.
- 3
Use it as the on-ramp, not the destination
Pair the training with Udyam registration and a funding roadmap so it converts into an actual business.
What we actually do on a ESDP mandate
Services this usually needs
No consultant can guarantee a sanction — that decision sits with the evaluating committee, bank or incubator. We commit to an honest eligibility view, an application built to the evaluator’s format, filing inside the window and a documented follow-up cadence. That is stated in every engagement letter we sign.