How GoDaddy is bridging the digital divide for small businesses

India’s small and medium-sized businesses form the backbone of the country’s economy. The segment was severely hit by the restrictions induced by the pandemic and digital adoption became crucial for weathering the multiple waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“Earlier, for SMBs, coming online was a thought flickering between ‘Should I?’ or ‘Should I not?’ But after the pandemic, it became ‘I have to’,” said Nikhil Arora, MD and VP, GoDaddy India, at TechSparks 2021, Asia’s largest and most influential startup-tech event hosted by YourStory. 

Discussing the topic ‘Bridging the digital divide for small businesses’, Nikhil says that internet consumption in India increased by 13 percent, not just in Tier-I cities but also in Tier-II and III cities, as well as in rural areas. India currently has more than 560 million internet users according to Statista, and by 2025, this figure is projected to reach 900 million, with most of the next batch of users expected to come from non-English speaking parts of the country. 

The vast scope

With India home to around 65 million SMBs in India, Nikhil said only 10-12 million of them are present online, so the scope for players operating with the likes of GoDaddy is also huge.

“There’s a broad and long runway and people in the same business as ours have a lot of opportunity without any fear of being trapped even if more players come in,” he explained.

Nikhil added that GoDaddy supports the entrepreneurial dream. “When they dream to set up a business, the platform enables them to choose that name and help them begin their digital journey by launching a website.”

The key differentiator comes where GoDaddy drives awareness about the product and provides 24x7 customer care. 

What’s next?

GoDaddy now has over a million customers in the Indian market and Nikhil said that the platform captures 45 percent of the market share, and its brand awareness is 85 percent. 

He pointed that vocal and regional language content would be important in the near future as digital adoption in the market would accelerate by 25-30 percent, especially in the rural areas. Automation would be another driving factor. 

“It now doesn’t take lakhs and crores of rupees to build your dreams; all it needs is just taking a small step ahead. I see the 10-12 million SMBs growing to 30-35 million in the next few years,” Nikhil said, signing off. 

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