Jan. 8: The Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) is setting up a regional resource centre on its campus to encourage cluster development.

Cluster development approach helps small enterprises meet challenging opportunities and threats in business. “Amidst severe competition posed by globalisation, it is felt that developing clusters of firms engaged in similar activities would be the most viable approach to develop and sustain the small and traditional industrial sector. It is in this context that the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship has taken up a cluster development programme to develop the small enterprises to face opportunities and threats in business,” a senior official of the IIE said.

The institute, located at Lalmati in Basistha Chariali, will hold a workshop on cluster development on January 31 to generate awareness about clusters. The role of the resource centre on cluster development programmes will also be discussed among the Union and state government officials, financing and lending agencies and NGOs at the workshop.

A cluster is defined by a product, which generally includes a product range and a place. It is also identified with the name of a city town or a village.

Clustering can bring a wide range of benefits to the business and increase productivity. In the long run, this approach is beneficial for the growth of the economy as well.

When companies or firms are located in a cluster, they can take the expertise available to the related companies. These firms can develop an infrastructure of professional, legal, financial and other specialist services. They can strengthen social and other informal links, which could lead to the creation of new ideas and new businesses.

“Being located in the city, enterprises can receive the best of advice and get all the support they require,” the official said. The official said micro, small and medium-sized enterprises’ clusters are being developed to enhance production base and improve competitiveness, to identify new markets, to trigger growth, to attain economies of scale, to create new employment opportunities and address regional economic imbalances. The growth of clusters can lower the cost of production and make the firms produce quality products at a competitive price. It can help the firms access a wider market with the state-of-the-art technology. This is more important with the increasing globalisation,” the official said.

This programme and workshop designed by the institute would help in capacity building, provide handholding support and devise policy interventions in sustainable cluster development, particularly for small and medium-sized companies.