The key to survival now for India’s small businesses

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the pace of digital transformation for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), a sector that contributes 30 percent to India’s GDP. 

According to a report released by Avendus Capital in October 2020, with 130 million Indians shopping online, starting an online business is the only option available to MSMEs. 

Speaking at YourStory’s MSME Summit, Vikas Saroagi, Vice President, Merchant Acceptance, South Asia, Mastercard, said, setting up a website and enabling digital payments help businesses to not only increase sales by attracting domestic and international customers but also enables access to capital. 

Talking about MSME accessing cheap credit, Crediwatch's Founder and CEO Meghna Suryakumar, said, “A digital platform can help reach out to businesses across the country and process loans faster. Automating processes from a lender’s end is a key factor in the ability to scale credit/lending.” 

Bengaluru-based ‘data insights-as-a-service’ startup Crediwatch has provided insights to lending institutions for loan portfolios of up to $12 billion. At present, it works with 20 lenders in India.

Read all about how the Indian startup ecosystem is battling the second wave of COVID-19 here.

Here are some useful tools to help you find the nearest vaccine centres in real-time.

You can also share a tribute to COVID-19 warriors, saviours, and survivors here.

The Interview

Almost overnight, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the face of India’s business landscape. But some small businesses have shown the way forward by leveraging technology.

Sampad Swain, Co-founder and CEO, Instamojo, gets in conversation with Vikas Saraogi, Vice President - Merchant Acceptance, South Asia - Mastercard, on a panel discussion ‘Small businesses’ approach to digital transformation’.

Editor’s Pick: Product Roadmap

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a paradigm digital shift. However, SMEs took a hit as they faced financial and operational challenges and struggled to create an online presence. 

Dukaan, a SaaS-based ecommerce enablement platform, helps these SMEs create websites in 30 seconds. With more than 3.5 million sellers, it has processed more than 12 lakh orders since its inception in 2020. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Helping 1 million+ tutors across India teach online for free

The pandemic posed a huge challenge to stakeholders of the Indian education system, especially individual tutors who were used to the offline setup.

To enable them to continue teaching online without having to deal with fragmented and complex digital tools, Teachmint built a SaaS-based mobile-first end-to-end solution, which allows them to not only host and record their classes but also hand out assignments, take attendance, and more. Read more.

News & Updates

• American retail giant Walmart announced an initiative to support the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India under its new initiative, Vriddhi Cares.

• Facebook India announced its tie-up with VC fund Stellaris Venture Partners to scale young businesses. The partnership is a part of Facebook’s VC Brand Incubator Programme.

• Early-stage startup fund 9Unicorns announced the fourth close of its first accelerator fund at $50 million with participation from key players and limited partners (LPs).

• Deeptech health startup NiramaiHealth Analytix raised research funding from a UK-based development finance institution and impact investor CDC for NIRAMAI FeverTest, a COVID screening solution.

Before you go, stay inspired with… 

“The ability to pivot, understand the need of the market, and look for alternative sources of income while being resilient, and weathering out the storm has helped SMBs during the pandemic.”

— Meghna Suryakumar, Founder and CEO, Crediwatch 

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