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Frequently Asked Questions

Udhyam is a rural entrepreneurship program designed to encourage entrepreneurial activity among rural communities in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand. 48 entrepreneurs are currently being supported in the districts of Nainital and Almora.

We are looking for entrepreneurs or youth with business ideas and a spark. Existing businesses are also applicable.

As part of the Udhyam program, you will be given loans by our NBFC partner as well as a mentor (if you want one), who will help make the business a reality with you. 

Udhyam is seen as a ‘changemakers’ program. Creating entrepreneurs is like creating many more agents who act as drivers of change in their communities, creating a buzz and acting as role models for people around them. Such an initiative can have a multiplier effect in the short and medium term. 

Moreover, entrepreneurship is an activity that puts money in people’s pockets, creates additional jobs and opens up their minds to more possibilities of change.

We want to continue to support potential entrepreneurs with the financial assistance to set up or grow their businesses and make their entrepreneurial dreams a reality.

In the long term, our goal is to reverse migration in the state and create jobs at the village level.

Udhyam has tied up with one of the largest NBFCS in the country to facilitate loans to entrepreneurs with reasonable interest rates and minimum documentation. 

No, Udhyam does not provide any subsidy on loans.

We provide training and mentorship to enable the entrepreneur to make his or her business venture a success.

Entrepreneurs do a variety of work – they create a business, employ people and take risks. While the effort required is similar or even more than a regular job, the rewards of entrepreneurship are usually higher. 

At a job, you are more likely to be doing the same kind of work on a daily basis, but it is a risk-free way to earn a living. 

You can still apply. The applicant has to come with a well prepared plan – preferably a business plan – post which the idea will be evaluated. If found viable, the mentor will develop the business idea with you. 

A group of organizations and people working in Uttarakhand for non-profit including Agrani India Foundation and Meteores Trust. 

A mentor will guide you, help with the business plan and make the idea a successful business by working together with you. 

The mentor is available for a year. 

Upto a maximum of INR 5 lakh per idea is available, but it depends on your idea and how much is required. It will take the form of a loan with a flat rate of 10% interest per year to be repaid in 2 years.

Once a call for applications is launched, simply call up 8392982929, 7900900661 (Monday to Saturday 10 am to 5pm) to register your idea.

The applicant has to get his idea registered with few questions to be answered, by calling in at B2R. After this ideas will be evaluated by the core team and selected individuals will be called for a face to face interview. The selected individual has to bring his idea with the plan in written form for the first interview followed by final interview and home visits post which the loan will be recommended to the partner NBFC for disbursement.  

We solicit entries from youth in the 18-30 group but there is no upper age limit. 

Entrepreneurs can also apply as a group of people and a loan will be given by the Partner NBFC to the group based on Udhyam’s recommendation. 

This is an entrepreneurship program where we provide a mentor as well as training workshops – two learning workshops a year at a central venue. We don’t provide training alone. 

– Business plan/idea explained fully on a paper. 

– Valid bank account and Aadhar card. 

– Two co-signatories and their Aadhar cards who are not family members and will stand as guarantors to the loan.

No. We could give you ideas, help you connect with someone who could be interested in your product but you will have to take it forward from there. 

For example, a mentor introduced our entrepreneur from the first cohort, Madho, to Patanjali but he himself converted into a business deal.

It will be given in 1 or 2 instalments depending on the loan amount and requirement of the business.
 

We will work out a schedule of payments. 

You need to pay on the due date by bank transfer or cheque.  

First, let your idea/plan get selected. The selection process is not easy, therefore your idea must be good.

Udhyam will help you connect to a mentor who can support you in taking your business forward with your efforts. If the business doesn’t do well, you have to responsibly return it to the NBFC partner, the same way you return it to any lender through your personal resources.

If you are hesitant, we would recommend that you make a small beginning, and then reapply for a larger loan once you have gained more confidence about the growth prospects of your business.

The loan has to be returned within 2 years. No extension of time period will be given.