As we chart out the future course of action, we confront many challenges in terms of fostering entrepreneurship among the community: a) availability of early-stage funding; b) creating professional Entrepreneurship Development Programs (EDPs) tailored for their needs without ignoring their social setting, and; c) helping existing Dalit entrepreneurs scale up their operations and grow.

A) The legacy model of ‘collateral based lending’ preferred by traditional FIs creates an entry barrier to aspiring Dalit entrepreneurs as they rarely possess assets that can be collateralized. However, it is not clear how far it will be feasible to create an ‘early stage funding Venture Capital mechanism’ as an alternative.
B) Establishing EDPs as professionally run programs, not exclusively for Dalits (to avoid ghettoization and expand their professional networks).
C) Creating / accessing professional funds that can invest in Dalit businesses that are on the growth trajectory.

A major challenge for DICCI is how to create/prescribe benchmarks for its members in terms of how and from where to access capital and pitfalls thereof, and where to turn for advice and mentoring. The DICCI and its members face a large knowledge gap about the complexities, opportunities and risks in harnessing the financial sector.