MSME Schemes: Making use of the Marketing Assistance Scheme
An MSME business can grow if it is marketed properly. The Ministry of MSME offers the Marketing Assistance Scheme which helps businesses amp up their promotion and increase their market presence in national and international markets.
Run by: Ministry of MSME
Applicable to: Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Industry associations and Organisations Keywords: MSME, Marketing Aid, Government Support, Financial Aid
Do you want your business to grow?
Every businessperson desires to take his business to great heights. But the question of how to grow and perform consistently is what troubles many.
Growing your business requires you to have a niche over your competitors. It could be your product, strategy, services or anything else that helps you to be unique in your own space. Along with this, you need to market your brand in an extensive manner and do promotional activities through which you can inform your prospective customers about your proposition.
Marketing is the key to sustained growth of your business in an organic and cost-effective manner. It would require you to expand your customer base and increase revenue by marketing it domestically as well as in international markets. Only when your business’ topline revenue increases to a substantial amount, you can grow your MSME business and expand into newer markets.
How to market your business?
Participating in national and international exhibitions, co-sponsoring exhibitions, organising trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, promotional and marketing events are some very potent marketing tools that can help in promoting your business. So, when you undertake these marketing tools you can attract clients.
However, these marketing activities require considerable spends and one of the perennial challenges for an MSME is the need of funds. The Ministry of MSME runs a Marketing Assistance Scheme to provide financial assistance for the marketing activities undertaken by MSMEs.
Here is a detailed outline of the scheme: The Marketing Assistance Scheme of the Ministry of MSME
What is offered by the scheme?
- The Marketing Assistance Scheme offers MSME businesses the necessary finance so that they can engage in the following marketing activities for their business –
- Organising exhibitions at international locations
- Participating in international exhibitions or trade fairs
- Co-sponsoring exhibitions which have been organised by other organisations, industry associations or agencies
- Organising buyer-seller meets, marketing promotional events or intensive campaigns for the business
Funding for these activities is provided by the scheme. The amount of finance depends on the activity for which the financial assistance is sought. It would be as follows –
Up to 95% of the air fare and the space rent for exhibitions or events would be provided by the scheme to entrepreneurs. The amount of funding would also depend on the size and the type of the business
In case of co-sponsoring of an event, the funding would be provided for up to 40% of the net expenditure of the event subject to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh.
Who runs the scheme?
The Marketing Assistance Scheme is operated and run by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
Scheme eligibility
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, industry associations and organisations which are related to the MSME sector can avail the Marketing Assistance Scheme for funding their marketing activities.
How can one apply for the scheme?
Applying for the scheme is quite simple. Interested businesses would have to fill up an application form for the scheme and submit the form to the nearest office of the National Small Industries Corporation. All the details of the marketing activity which is to be financed with the scheme should be clearly stated in the application or proposal made for the scheme.
In Conclusion
Growing any business requires right investments for it to pay off. As an MSME, paucity of funds should not restrict your growth. The Marketing Assistance Scheme can be a great support in your promotional efforts and become the wind beneath the wings of your venture.
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