Institute for Enterprise Culture and Entrepreneurship Development (IECED), a not- for- profit non-governmental organisation was registered under Travancore-Cochin Charitable Societies Act 1955 on 23rd February 2001(Register No. T1360) with the objective of promoting enterprise culture and entrepreneurship development in Kerala.
In the initial years, the interventions of IECED in the form of research, advocacy, networking and publications were centred on these two objectives. During the last few years, several institutions have come up in Kerala to promote entrepreneurship. They undertake training programmes and offer consultancy services to entrepreneurial aspirants. Now, there is greater recognition of the importance of entrepreneurship in Kerala society. Yet all these have had only marginal impact on the supply of entrepreneurial resources in Kerala. Kerala is far below most Indian States in ‘ease of doing businesses. The environment for entrepreneurship is vitiated by labyrinthine procedures and formalities in government offices and the society which has not internalized the ethos of enterprise culture.
Not surprisingly, entrepreneurship is not the career option of vast majority of young people in Kerala. This is evidenced by the fact that young people spend considerable portion of their youthful years undergoing various degree courses and coaching classes in the hope of landing up a government job. Coaching for the various tests of Public Service Commission has become the new Manthra for the youth in Kerala. The failure of the state to produce and project successful entrepreneurs as role models worthy of emulation has a lot to do with this situation.