Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan Inaugurates UCO Bank’s Education Programme to Empower Entrepreneurs

Union Education and Skill Development minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday launched “UCO Empower”, a business mentoring initiative by UCO Bank, a Kolkata-based public sector banking giant, in collaboration with Knowledge partner Poornatha, an education company specializing in simplified entrepreneurship courses.

The official launch event held at Dhenkanal, Odisha, on January 20, 2024, witnessed the presence of esteemed dignitaries, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Minister of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Government of India, in the presence of Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance, Government of India, Shri Goverdhan S. Rawat, Deputy Managing Director, NABARD Mumbai, Dr Parshant Kumar Goyal, Joint Secretary, Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

“MSME Lending is our bank’s thrust area. In line with our country’s aspiration of achieving a $5-trillion economy, we felt the emphasis should be on the MSME sector and empowering them. UCO Empower seeks to address this critical sector and we are happy to onboard Poornatha as our knowledge partner”, said *Shri Ashwani Kumar, MD & CEO of UCO Bank*, on the sidelines of the event.

“We are thrilled to be associated with UCO bank, delivering the program in Indian regional languages. We aim to equip every MSME entrepreneur with the head-start that is required for business success,” shared Suresh, Co-Founder of Poornatha, encapsulating the excitement about the collaboration.

Poornatha is a leading Indian education company providing tailored courses on entrepreneurship, financial literacy, and leadership in regional languages. With a global impact of over 1,900 entrepreneurs and 49,000 students, the new-age education company specializes in delivering world-class knowledge as interactive learning modules.

“Entrepreneurs can learn from the comforts of their business premises,” says Shri Vinay Kamble, Executive Director, UCO Bank. UCO Empower aims to elevate the Indian MSME ecosystem to new heights.