The aim of this study is to investigate the contribution of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to the economic well-being and earnings of their owners/managers with reference to the Cachar district of Assam. A standardised questionnaire is utilised to collect data from 200 randomly chosen MSMEs operating in the Cachar district of Assam, a developing region of India, to accomplish the aim of the study. Descriptive statistics are used to analyse the collected data. Additionally, the study employs Wilcoxon signed-rank test to examine the statistical difference between the income of MSME owners/managers before and after joining MSMEs. The results demonstrate that MSMEs enhance the monthly income of 74 per cent of owners/managers. The results of the Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicate that the median income of MSME owners/managers has significantly increased after their involvement in MSMEs. The study also indicates that almost 9 out of every 10 MSMEs generate earnings of the owner-managers above the poverty line, whereas 83.9 per cent of MSMEs generate household income of owners/managers above the defined poverty line. MSMEs significantly improve the households’ material well-being by enhancing the spending ability of their owners/managers and increasing asset holding.