SHILLONG, OCT 12: Meghalaya’s goal is to build a lasting ecosystem and culture of entrepreneurship, where young people see the state as a place where new ideas take shape, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said on Sunday.
Speaking at the Chief Minister’s Youth and Innovation Summit 2026 in Shillong, Sangma said the government’s role is that of a catalyst — providing the platform, policies and support — while the youth remain at the centre of innovation.
“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,” the Chief Minister said, underlining the need for sustained momentum. “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 entrepreneurial programmes and competitions would make investors and industry leaders say that “a lot is happening out there.”
Pointing to the state’s IT growth, Sangma said the second IT Park recently inaugurated has been fully allotted and companies have already asked for 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.
During the programme, the Chief Minister announced winners of the Chief Minister’s Business Catalyst (CMBC) Challenge, launched the Chief Minister’s Innovation Contest 2026 and the PRIME Digital Service Provider Platform (PRIME DSPP), and handed over grants to PRIME beneficiaries.
Under CMBC, students from colleges and universities presented business proposals before an expert jury, including manufacture of soap from used cooking oil, compost from Iewduh market waste, cold storage for Lakadong turmeric and Khasi mandarin, and single-origin coffee from Mawkyrwat.
The PRIME DSPP, described as Meghalaya’s own doorstep services platform, will let citizens book verified local professionals for carpentry, electrical, plumbing, cleaning, salon and tailoring services. The platform charges zero commission, allows providers to set their own rates and builds a public rating and digital payment history. It will be rolled out to district headquarters in phases.
The Innovation Contest 2026 is open to residents with a working prototype and will connect innovators with government departments, technical experts and adoption pathways.
Together, the three initiatives form a pipeline, the CM said — CMBC for developing ideas among students, PRIME for incubating enterprises, and the Innovation Contest for scaling working solutions for government adoption.
“We are just the catalyst. It is you who are at the centre and the heart of all of this,” Sangma told the youth. “We do few things, but we do them well. We focus on them, and when nobody is believing in it, we still keep believing in it.”
Observing that Meghalaya has long promoted music, dance and fashion competitions but fewer in innovation, mathematics and science, he said, “Nothing motivates an individual like competition.”
Terming expenditure on youth as investment, he said, “I am not spending, I am investing, because every rupee we spend and invest on our youth is going to have returns.”
He also urged central institutions in Shillong, including IIM, NIFT and IIAD, to offer short-term certificate courses for local youth. “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.
Thanking Dr Theodore Lyngdoh and the IIM Shillong team for leading the CMBC programme, the Chief Minister said, “Whatever we have done in the last few years is just the foundation. Now the real work starts.”
By Our Reporter
