Yes, KISS-DU as a body provides assistance in the local community supporting the start-up of financially and socially sustainable businesses through relevant education or resources.

1. The different initiatives adopted by KISS are outlined below:-
   1. KISS-DU has set up a Center for Indigenous Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE). Through this initiative, KISS supports the development of entrepreneurship eco-system in indigenous communities. The Centre plans to promote futuristic innovations, an entrepreneurial environment through the cultivation of the potential of the entrepreneurs. It also wishes to create a vibrant start-up ecosystem to align itself with the major policy initiatives under the banners of Make-in-India and Start-up India, Stand-up India as well as Start-up Odisha. All these involve setting up incubator facilities, providing start-up support such as mentoring, legal, financial and technological aids, intellectual property rights protection aids, cost-effective infrastructural support and other value-added services. This Centre works towards providing a forum and platform where technologies developed by faculty, students and local community can be commercialized. https://university.kiss.ac.in/groups/centre-for-indigenous-innovation-and-entrepreneurship/
   2. KISS-DU organized various sensitization programmes and hand holding initiatives in collaboration with EDII, MSME, KIIT TBI, BCKIC, NIF
      1. Business and Entrepreneurship Workshops – KISS-DU hosts free workshops on start up and business enterprise focusing on core topics such as business strategy, financial literacy, marketing, etc. These workshops aimed at students, local community members, or aspiring entrepreneurs.
         1. Mentoring Session on “Angel Investment/VC Funding Opportunity for Early-Stage Entrepreneurs”: The School of Comparative Indic Studies and Tribal Science, in collaboration with the Centre for Indigenous Science and Technology, Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Deemed to be University (KISS-DU), Bhubaneswar, organized a session on “Angel Investment/VC Funding Opportunity for Early-Stage Entrepreneurs” under the banner of Institution Innovation Council (IIC), Ministry of Education (MoE) . The session was led by Dr. Vimal Kumar Pandey, Associate Professor and Co-ordinator of Start-Up Activities, IIC at KISS-DU, who shared valuable insights on funding opportunities for early-stage entrepreneurs. https://university.kiss.ac.in/posts/mentoring-session-on-angel-investment-vc-funding-opportunity-for-early-stage-entrepreneurs/
         2. Capacity building workshop to empower and inculcate Entrepreneurial Skills https://university.kiss.ac.in/posts/capacity-building-workshop-to-empower-and-inculcate-entrepreneurial-skills-held-at-kiss-du/ : KISS Science and Technology for Innovation Hub for Tribals funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India organized a “Capacity building workshop to empower and inculcate Entrepreneurial Skills” on 1st October 2024. This event was organized in collaboration with National Innovation Foundation (NIF), India, KIIT Technology Business Incubator (KIIT-TBI), Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the Centre for Indigenous Knowledge on Herbal Medicine and Therapeutics, KISS-DU.
         3. Distinguished Invited lecture on “Building Entrepreneurial Capacity at KISS” https://university.kiss.ac.in/posts/kiss-du-organizes-distinguished-invited-lecture-on-building-entrepreneurial-capacity-at-kiss/ : A distinguished invited lecture on “Building Entrepreneurial Capacity at KISS” was held at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) on 16th December 2024. The event was jointly organized by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC), the Center for Indigenous Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), and the School of Tribal Resource Management (STRM), KISS-DU. Dr. Hemant Merchant, Professor of Global Business, University of South Florida (USF) was invited as the esteemed speaker.
         4. Three Days Online Workshop on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation as Career Opportunity” https://university.kiss.ac.in/posts/three-days-online-workshop-on-entrepreneurship-and-innovation-as-career-opportunity/ : The School of Comparative Indic Studies and Tribal Science, KISS-DU in association with the Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences (KISS) Deemed to be university (KISS-DU), was thrilled to host a Three Day Online Workshop on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation as Career Opportunity” from 18th to 20th September 2023, at 3:00 PM (IST) onwards virtually. This enlightening workshop delved deep into the world of entrepreneurship, focusing on the promising career opportunities in agriculture and innovation.
         5. World Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Day observed at KISS-DU: https://university.kiss.ac.in/posts/world-intellectual-property-rights-ipr-day-observed-at-kiss-du/ On April 26, 2024, the Kalinga Institute of Social Sciences Deemed to be University (KISS-DU) hosted a vibrant celebration of World Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Day at the Conference Hall Library. This special event aimed to enhance awareness among Indigenous research scholars and students about securing copyrights for their creative works.
      2. Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship – Capacity building workshops on creating social action projects and enterprise are conducted to support the aspiring individuals from indigenous communities. The University offers free access to its incubator for students and local indigenous entrepreneurs who intend to launch their startups.
      3. Spark-O- Thon :
      4. Mission Uday : Creating Change Makers in Tribal Communities – KISS conceptualized Mission UDAY which is a multi-stakeholder project envisioned to address the challenges faced by young people from vulnerable tribal communities of Odisha and seeks to position youth at the core of development initiatives of the state. The project aimed at creating change agents in the community and building young leaders who would engage in social development processes and influence their peers for the betterment of their communities. 2504 youth enrolled in a livelihood-based skill development program under this intervention which is indicative of the fact that these tribal youth were actively seeking alternate livelihood options which was justly provided by this initiative. Under the intervention, individuals who undertake poultry farming and fishing for livelihood generation received Rs. 10,000 as seed money. During the project, 164 such seed grants were distributed in 4 districts of Odisha, incentivizing the others to undertake similar activities and make use of the available beneficial policies. The program established SBI customer point and engaged SHG women as banking correspondents of State Bank of India (SBI). This helped the farmers to save time by avoiding bank visits. Resultant to prevent wage loss. Besides this, the SHG workers were able to generate higher income, spending of which boosted the local economy. https://kiss.ac.in/mission-uday/ https://kiss.ac.in/work-with-migrant-communities/
2. Facilities and Resources provided:
   1. State of the Art Infrastructure Laboratories:
   2. Access to digital resources
   3. Direct access to faculty members who are subject-matter experts in diverse fields.

Over 300+ local community members, including entrepreneurs, have accessed our facilities in the past year.