Shillong, Oct 12: Meghalaya’s second IT Park has been fully allotted, and companies have already sought a third phase, Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma said on Monday, as the state stepped up efforts to promote entrepreneurship and innovation among young people.
Speaking at the Chief Minister’s Youth and Innovation Summit 2026 in Shillong, Sangma announced a series of initiatives aimed at helping students develop business ideas, supporting local enterprises and connecting innovators with government departments.
The announcements included the launch of the Chief Minister’s Innovation Contest 2026 and the PRIME Digital Service Provider Platform (PRIME DSPP), along with the declaration of winners of the Chief Minister’s Business Catalyst (CMBC) Challenge. Grants were also handed over to PRIME beneficiaries.
The CMBC Challenge brought together students from colleges and universities to present business proposals before an expert jury. The selected ideas included making soap from used cooking oil, producing compost from waste generated at Iewduh market, setting up cold storage facilities for Lakadong turmeric and Khasi mandarin, and developing single-origin coffee from Mawkyrwat.
The proposals point to business opportunities in waste management, agricultural value addition and the marketing of products sourced from Meghalaya.
Sangma said the government’s objective was to create an environment where entrepreneurs and investors increasingly viewed Meghalaya as a place for new ideas and business ventures.
“It doesn’t happen with one competition. It doesn’t happen with one IT park. It’s something that you start feeling. It’s just happening again and again and again,” he said.
The government, he added, could provide the necessary platforms, policies and support, but young people had to drive the process.
“I want that kind of momentum to be created here, that feeling among entrepreneurs that this is the place where innovation takes place,” he said.
From business ideas to doorstep services
The PRIME Digital Service Provider Platform is designed to connect residents with verified local professionals offering services such as plumbing, electrical repairs, carpentry, cleaning, salon services and tailoring.
Under the model, service providers will be able to set their own prices without paying commission to the platform. They will also be able to build public ratings and digital payment records, potentially helping them establish a track record and reach more customers.
The government plans to extend the platform to district headquarters in phases.
The Chief Minister’s Innovation Contest 2026, meanwhile, is open to Meghalaya residents who have working prototypes. The initiative will connect innovators with technical experts and relevant government departments, with the aim of helping suitable solutions find practical applications in public programmes and services.
The three initiatives are designed to serve different stages of the process: the CMBC Challenge encourages students to develop business ideas, PRIME supports entrepreneurs, while the Innovation Contest seeks solutions that can be taken forward for wider use.
Competition to encourage young innovators
Sangma said Meghalaya had a long tradition of competitions in music, dance and fashion, but fewer opportunities for young people to test themselves in innovation, mathematics and science.
He said the idea of creating such platforms had been on his mind for the past eight years.
“Nothing motivates an individual like competition,” he said, adding that young people should not be discouraged if their ideas did not succeed.
He urged participants to continue thinking differently and experimenting, rather than treat failure as a reason to give up.
The Chief Minister said the government wanted to create a culture in which innovation became a regular part of the state’s entrepreneurial landscape, rather than an activity limited to occasional events.
IT sector growth
Referring to the state’s expanding IT sector, Sangma said the second IT Park had been fully allotted and companies had asked about a third phase.
“The pace at which we are seeing IT companies coming in, investing in Meghalaya and looking at our human resource to do different kinds of work, is really amazing,” he said.
The development, he said, reflected growing interest in Meghalaya’s workforce and the opportunities available to businesses operating from the state.
Sangma also called on institutions in Shillong, including IIM Shillong, NIFT and the Indian Institute of Fashion Design, to offer short-term training and certificate courses for local youth and entrepreneurs.
Even brief training programmes could make a difference, he said, by giving participants access to specialised knowledge and expertise.
“When our people get to train for 5 days, 10 days, 15 days, it’s a game changer. They are learning from the best,” he said.
The Chief Minister also referred to Meghalaya’s early childhood development model, which he said he had recently presented to the Prime Minister, as part of the state’s broader focus on developing human resources.
Describing spending on young people as an investment rather than an expense, Sangma said the government would continue supporting initiatives that create opportunities for them.
Thanking Dr Theodore Lyngdoh and the IIM Shillong team for leading the CMBC programme, he said the initiatives introduced in recent years had laid the groundwork for the next phase of the state’s entrepreneurship push.
“Whatever we have done in the last few years is just the foundation. Now the real work starts,” he said.
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