Entrepreneurs advised not to replicate others but be innovative

Our Correspondent
Kohima, Feb. 18 (EMN): Nagas are very good at imitating others; if one person opens a garment shop, others will follow suit, lamented Director of Industries and Commerce K Hokishe Assumi, while encouraging entrepreneurs to be innovative.

He was speaking at a training programme on ‘packaging for export of agri-food, handloom, and handicraft products of Nagaland’ in Kohima on Friday. It was organised with an aim to create awareness among the entrepreneurs on “how to do and what to do” in regard to packaging.

‘Imitating will take a long time, so have your innovations. Finance will be a problem initially but there are a lot of ways for those who are willing to do things well,’ Assumi said.

He advised business people and entrepreneurs not to think of immediate returns as there is nothing as such and that everything depends on sincerity and honesty.

‘If our people are sincere and can go ahead, push ourselves to improve the product, quality, and quantity,’ the director said, success is inevitable.

He also said that products should be of good standard or else they would not be eligible to be exported.

‘The department is planning to have a testing library in Dimapur and a warehouse as well. It is still at the concept stage but the testing lab should be materialised very soon and everyone can avail these facilities,’ he informed.

The director revealed that department of Industries and Commerce, government of Nagaland, is planning to set up a mega export centre in the state in collaboration with Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP). He added that the project is still at the concept stage but it should come up in a year or so.

‘Unless we have good packaging, goods are not going to do well. We are mainly agro-based and there are lots of bottlenecks. But at the end of the day, it comes down to the packaging,’ he said.

Citing examples of packaging from different countries, he said that people here should observe and learn from them. ‘In Nagaland, we say our products are organic, so also our packaging and branding should be presentable,’ he added.

‘At the government level, discussions have been made to come up with a brand each on agro-based products, handloom, and handicraft products. If that can be done, everyone can sell under the name of the Nagaland brand or whatever brand it is going to be. Nagaland needs to have its own packaging and brand,’ he continued.

‘Packaging is a silent salesman’

Joint Director of Indian Institute of Packaging, Mumbai, Babu Rau Guduri, said at the training programme that Nagaland exports a lot of products and it is needed to remind the people about the importance of packaging while exporting any product.

Dwelling on the basic concept of packaging, he said that ‘it means your product should reach the final destination without damage and at a minimum overall cost. Choosing materials for packaging is equally important. If one does not have proper material, the package will be damaged and ultimately the product inside will be destroyed’.

‘Packaging is the science, art, and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. It is a coordinated system of preparing goods for transport, warehousing, sale, and use. Packaging helps the consumer quickly understand what the product is all about and it is a silent salesman,’ he added.

Speaking on different levels of packaging, the Joint Director of IIP informed that ‘primary packaging is when the product is contacted directly to the packaging. In the secondary packaging, it provides all information about the product. Whereas, shipper or transport packaging involves all information about transport. All the three levels of packaging should work together’.

‘Packaging functions included preservation, protection, transportation, and the shipper.

Packaging material also needed varied kinds of materials such as paper, board, plastic, lamination, metal, glass, and others,’ he informed.

He further said that the Nagaland government’s department of Industries and Commerce, and IIP are planning to set up a mega export in the state to make all kinds of packaging facilities available in one place. He added that an MoU would be signed on this in the future.

Tali Longcher, Director of MSME-Development Institute, Dimapur, called upon the people to avail loans to start business, saying that there are lot of schemes and benefits available under MSME.

He added that one also needs to have soft skills to be a successful business person.

“To export products, we have to focus on something that we can do and what we have, instead of imitating others,” he said while urging the participants to make use of the available raw materials and products to compete with others.

About 180 participants received certificates for attending the programme which was organised by the department of Industries and Commerce in collaboration with the IIP.