CII workshops to help micro, small business owners grow | Pune News

Pune: There are good tidings for micro and small entrepreneurs struggling to scale their business on account of inadequate office space or shortage of ideas, as the Pune chapter of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will conduct workshops in western Maharashtra throughout the year.
Training provided during those sessions would include ways to improve sales, marketing, finance and manufacturing, CII officials said, adding business owners would also receive individual solutions from the industry body’s network of members.
Yashwant Desai, co-convenor, CII Pune MSME panel, said, “We are also planning to arrange finance for them. The selected bank will prepare special products such as reduced interest rates.”
Medium enterprises are better placed compared to micro and small-scale businesses, which typically have 8 to 10 employees and a turnover of up to Rs 50 crore, Desai said at a workshop held in Pune last week.
The two-day programme organised at Institute of Management and Research Development (IMDR) in the city saw around 35 entrepreneurs in attendance. They were later enrolled on CII’s entrepreneurship development forum, which would give them access to mentorship programmes and networking opportunities.
Other than Desai, those present at the workshop included Amit Ghaisas, MD of YashPrabha Group, Shikha Jain, director, IMDR, and Sadashib Padhee, convenor, CII Pune MSME panel.
The industry body has so far conducted workshops in Kolhapur, Nashik and Aurangabad, and planned 8-10 more by the end of 2025. These sessions will be free of cost, and non-members can also participate.