From digitising MSMEs to starting an online business with Rs 10K: top SMB Stories of the week
This week, SMBStory also covered the journey of HTS Solutions, which started as a website development company and gradually forayed into software development.
The micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) form the backbone of the Indian economy. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the MSME sector realised the importance of leveraging digital tools to survive and thrive.
According to Cisco India SMB Digital Maturity Study 2020, digital adoption will enable SMEs to add around $158 billion to $216 billion to India’s GDP by 2024.
Besides financing, MSMEs also face the challenge of finding a single solution for their different needs, including accounting, generating GST reports, and more, something that Bengaluru-based is trying to solve.
The Indian vertical of Germany-based data service company Buhl Group — founded in 1995 by Waldemar Buhl — Imprezz was launched in 2019 and provides various services such as generating invoices, accounting solutions, payments, and more.
This week, SMBStory spoke to Amit Mundra, CEO and Country Manager of Buhl Data Service, on how Imprezz differentiates itself, its workings, and its plans for the coming months.
According to Amit, the core of Imprezz is to become a “backbone for MSMEs” and build a platform that caters to all their needs. Imprezz's billing and accounting software are available for free. However, it has several add-on features, which costs between Rs 999 and Rs 1,499.
HTS Solutions
Thirty-five-year-old entrepreneur Pallav Agarwal fought adversities and managed to build a data centre company that not only has clients in India but also in the US, UK, and more.
“I am the first in my family to start a business, and frankly speaking, this wasn’t even a planned step but a means of survival for me and my family. When I go 10 years down the memory lane, I feel content. But, there’s a lot more to do,” Pallav tells SMBStory.
Founded in 2013 in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, was started as a website development company and gradually forayed into software development. Today, Pallav claims the company is one of the few in India to have its own data centre at this scale of business.
It caters to multiple clients, from micro-businesses to large enterprises across the globe, including the US, the UK, Turkey, and more.
While Pallav did not disclose the turnover, he claims to be making multi-million revenue and saw 100 percent growth this year.
When asked how he made it possible in the tech industry with no money and no formal education, he says: "Through sheer confidence in my capabilities.”
Starting an online business with Rs 10,000
The closure of offline retail stores during India’s coronavirus-induced lockdowns meant there was only one winner — ecommerce.
Even as the retail market shrunk by five percent due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian ecommerce industry grew by 25 percent in 2020-21, according to Bain & Company and report titled, How India Shops Online 2021.
Amidst the coronavirus crisis that toppled many industries, India’s fashion industry continued to grow.
Ecommerce focused supply-chain SaaS platform revealed in a report that the industry continues to grow with order volume growth of 51 percent and GMV (Gross Merchant Value) growth of 45 percent in FY21, compared to the previous FY.
The time is now seemingly right for India’s budding entrepreneurs to consider starting online fashion businesses and tapping into this opportunity.
Following a do-it-yourself (DIY) and asset-light retail model of dropshipping, one can start a fashion ecommerce business for potentially as low as Rs 10,000.
One can also opt for an inventory-based model with an initial investment of upwards of Rs 1 lakh.
To know more about how the dropshipping model works, read the full story here.
Edited by Suman Singh