Copyright © 2026 Authors retain the copyright of this article. This article is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

@article{207426,
        author = {Dr.Kavita Jain and Vibha Singh Gautam},
        title = {Unlocking MSME Potential for Inclusive Growth through Corporate Mentorship Linkages: An Empirical Investigation of Institutional Enablement, Financial Access, and Ecosystem Readiness},
        journal = {International Journal of Innovative Research in Technology},
        year = {2026},
        volume = {13},
        number = {3},
        pages = {1034-1039},
        issn = {2349-6002},
        url = {https://ijirt.org/article?manuscript=207426},
        abstract = {India's MSME sector — accounting for roughly 30% of GDP, 45% of exports, and livelihoods for over 120 million people — sits at an awkward intersection: indispensable to the economy, yet left out of formal credit and institutional support networks. Loan guarantee schemes and cluster programmes have helped at the margins, but gaps in credit access, information, and technology have persisted. This paper investigates structured corporate mentorship linkages, wherein large firms engage smaller enterprises in sustained knowledge transfer and market integration. Data were drawn from 420 Udyam-registered MSME owners surveyed across five states between October 2025 and February 2026, alongside in-depth interviews with 48 Relationship Managers from 18 corporations. Notably, our field investigation preceded the Union Budget 2026–27's formalisation of the 'Corporate Mitra' initiative; the policy announcement validated, rather than shaped, our inquiry. 
Multivariate regression shows that mentorship participation raises the likelihood of formal credit access by 34.6 percentage points and generates an average of 2.3 new buyer relationships; six of seven technology adoption indicators also improved. Gains are unevenly distributed, however. Rural enterprises benefit the least, engagement cycles are too short, and outcomes go largely unmeasured. 
We recommend four reforms: deliberate geographic expansion, a minimum twelve-month phased engagement model, dedicated cost-accounting professional support at cluster level, and a Udyam-linked outcome registry.},
        keywords = {corporate mentorship, MSME, Corporate Mitra, inclusive growth, credit access, technology adoption, professional accounting bodies, India},
        month = {August},
        }