PANAJI
Industries Minister Mauvin Godinho on Wednesday urged industry captains to encourage and mentor women entrepreneurs to venture into setting up medium and small enterprises or ancillaries, even as he simultaneously made a case for more women on factory shop floors.
Godinho, who was addressing entrepreneurs and top industry honchos at the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Goa State Council’s annual general meeting in the city, said the Goa Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC) has also recently decided to reserve 30 per cent of the small plots available in its industrial estates for women entrepreneurs.
“I want to say this to you. Give them (women) an opportunity to become entrepreneurs... see how they can set up ancillary units to support your industries and see how well they will contribute to the whole ecosystem and MSME growth,” Godinho said.
The minister also asked the CII team to assess the hundreds of women self-help groups in Goa, survey the “awesome” things they produce, and explore how it can all be integrated into the State’s industrial ecosystem.
On the government’s part, Godinho said transparency and ease of doing business measures have been given a fillip, including land allocation, for which the GIDC has made the whole process online. He said industrial units should now go vertical for expansion.
“We will give you all the permissions to build more floors vertically. It will save you investment on additional land while at the same time making more space available to operate,” Godinho said.
Capitalise on ‘Brand Goa’
Godinho said there is value in Brand Goa and urged the industry to capitalise on it. “Brand Goa has value. Everyone wants to see a ‘Made in Goa’ tag on products. You must see how to capitalise on it,” he said.
Latambarcem food processing estate
Godinho said there will soon be a full-fledged and exclusive food processing industrial estate coming up at Latambarcem, Bicholim.
“There is some criticism that a distillery is being permitted there. It should not be a problem, as that is also liquid food, which is nothing new in Goa,” Godinho said.
More women in workforce
The minister also made a case for industry captains to hire more women. He said transport to commute between home and work is the biggest hindrance for women choosing to work in the industrial sector.
Shipyard & ship repair
Godinho also said that given Goa’s long coast and rivers, shipbuilding and ship repair should be a sector that can be looked into for growth. “We have marked the entire land between Chicalim and Cortalim as ‘industrial’ on the ODP. You should tie up with Mormugao Port Authority and set up more shipyards and ship repair units there. It will also be a boost to Goa Shipyard and the sector,” Godinho said.
