Odisha signs MoU with BSE, NSE to promote MSMEs to access stock market

The MoU was signed at the Make in Odisha Conclave 2022 where a Business Leadership Talk was organised by Finance Department on Emerging Solutions for Financing Industries and Infrastructure.

The session dealt with two sub-themes, one focusing on financing MSME and the other on infrastructure.

During the session, a few initiatives were announced including, the launching of electronic Bank guarantees in collaboration with National EGovernance Services Ltd. (NESL).

The session was attended by officials from Banks, FI, Industry Associations, Financial service providers, FinTech companies, Business Schools, and Officials from Government Departments such as S S Mundra, Chairman BSE, Ramann, CMD, SIDBI, Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director IIM Sambalpur, Moazzam Mekan from International Finance Corporation, The World Bank, Rachana Bhusari, VP-NSE, and PR Jaishankar, MD, IIFCL. The session was moderated by Vishal Dev Principal Secretary Finance Department, Government of Odisha.

Mundra citing the benefits of listing in capital markets suggested to the state to prepare a list of 10-15 MSMEs that could aspire for listing and the government can hold seed equity in these through a dedicated corpus till they mature.

Bhusari from NSE assured her support for the listing of state MSMEs on the NSE Emerge platform.

Gulshan Malik, Dy Managing Director from SBI appreciated the projects announced by the State and assured all support for industrial growth. SBI also signed an MOU for financing start-ups and MSMEs of Odisha.

Ramann, CMD SIDBI spoke about their commitment to creating a Corpus for guaranteeing loans to MSMEs in Odisha which could be supplemented by the State to further enhance the quantum of guarantee. SIDBI would like to partner with the State for onboarding and facilitating digital funding support to MSMEs.

On Infrastructure financing, PR Jaishankar, MD, IIFCL spoke about the relay and refinancing of debt and suggested the state take up a Hybrid annuity model for financing its infrastructure. Complementing the discussion Moazzam Mekan, from International Finance Corporation, suggested the State upscale the PPP portfolio by creating a project pipeline, and incentivizing projects through VGF support.

Professor Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director IIM Sambalpur highlighted the need for skills and trained manpower for the promotion of MSME. IIM Sambalpur has already taken up a pilot program to upgrade the marketing and financial service skills in the weavers’ cluster of western Odisha.

The State shall take forward all the concrete suggestions given by various speakers to strengthen the MSME eco-system, particularly ensuring timely and adequate finance availability to MSMEs in the State. For infrastructure financing, State shall explore new options for structuring PPPs, creating a corpus for VGF support, and engaging with departments to create a pipeline of projects.