Google all set to launch edutainment series to digitally empower SMBs

Google, in partnership with Prasar Bharti, is all set to launch an edutainment series that explores how small business in India can use digital tools to adapt to the current COVID-19 crisis. The channel will talk about skills and resources for small and medium businesses that will help in digitally empowering them.

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In a virtual session hosted by Google India, the top executives announced several initiatives to bolster India's economy which faced a major blow in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic that broke out in the middle of March in India.

The pandemic crippled India's SMBs, leading to cash flow, liquidity, and various other concerns. Taking the digital route and adopting technology are paramount in order to speed up the recover of SMBs and ensure their smooth revival.

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, also announced the setting up of a $10 billion (Rs 75,000 crore) Digitisation Fund to bolster India's growing digital economy.

He said, "We want to ensure that India not just benefits from the next wave of innovation but also leads it."

Caesar Sengupta, Vice President of Product Management at Google, who also leads the Next Billion Users (NBU) initiative, said that Google's digital payment platform Google Pay, or GPay, has benefited over three million merchants and businesses who use the contactless payment tool for transactions.

With social distancing becoming the new norm in the post-COVID-19 era, it is important to note that contacless and digital payments are going to play a big role in the coming times.

Caesar said that, therefore, it important to digitally power the 26 million small businesses in India especially during these times. He said, "We need to overcome the current times by creating economic opportunity for everyone."

He also emphasised that the current times have compelled businesses and individuals to master new skills.

Sundar noted the growth of India's SMBs, especially in times of the COVID-19 pandemic, and said, "Small businesses are now joining the formal economy by using digital payments."

India's manufacturing capabilities are well-known and this is a good time to leverage them. Caesar said, "India is the second-largest mobile manufacturing country in the world."

He also added that over the past 12 years, more than two billion active devices from from over 1,300 Indian hardware manufacturers have supported Android, leading to the creation of 1.6 million jobs.