EDII has emerged from the Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (CED) of the Gujarat Industrial and Technical Consultancy Organisation. It is a national organisation sponsored by All-India finance institutions and Government of Gujarat, set up in the year 1983.

It is the Principal agency with special responsibility for entrepreneurship development. It has been focusing attention on developing programmes for entrepreneurship development and innovative training techniques for trainees. It has developed an experimental EDP for women keeping in view their special needs. It also conducts research, training and institution building activities for encouraging the participation of backward regions and special target groups in entrepreneurship. EDII has continued to offer its services to Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kenya, Ghana and other African Common wealth nations.

The principal activities of EDII are conducting and organising EDPs for potential entrepreneurs throughout the country, generation and dissemination of new knowledge, conducting seminars and workshops on various themes, extension of motivation programmes for officers, performance improvement programmes for existing entrepreneurs, competent management programmes for unemployed non-technical graduates etc. The various programmes run by EDII is said to be the oldest, largest, most comprehensive, organised and successful EDPs in the country.