India MSME Summit 2022: After COVID-19, how can MSMEs overcome their existing challenges?

In this “new normal”, after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across the board have had to re-strategise their short and long-term goals to cope with the new realities.

Especially MSMEs had to respond to the challenges at hand, ensure productivity, stay connected and engaged with their workforce, and create value as an organisation. 

During a fireside chat on day 5 of the India MSME Summit 2022, Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMart, discussed how Indian MSMEs can overcome their existing challenges and how better implementation of policies can help small businesses. 

The fourth edition of the India MSME Summit 2022 is a week-long celebration, between June 21 and 27, with a grand finale on India MSME Day. 

Key takeaways: 

Simpler and wider adoption: In the last few years, the government introduced policies like the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, but the MSMEs saw mixed results from the scheme amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also highlighted that the government should simplify the Goods and Services Tax (regimes), which will enable its wider and quicker adoption.

Going digital: Digital adoption is rapidly ongoing among Indian MSMEs as it significantly lowers the cost for any business. 

According to Dinesh, around 90 million users visit IndiaMart’s website every month. The company has also developed an artificial intelligence (AI) based system that would understand different languages. 

Change in mindset: MSMEs are inherently traditional. However, their mindset seems to be changing as more and more small business owners are ready to part with equity to grow their businesses. 

The last few years saw several MSMEs getting listed on NSE and BSE’s SME exchange platforms, and more small business owners are considering stock market listing in the future. 

Hybrid working: One of the biggest lessons the COVID-19 pandemic taught us is to have a hybrid work culture and communicate more because meeting in person may not always be possible. 

Building strong supply chains: The pandemic helped everyone understand the importance of supply chain and trade management. At a time when the world was on a lockdown, supply chains helped procure medical supplies and other necessities, which calls for building resilient and future-proof supply chains.

Watch the event live on YourStory TV, Facebook, and LinkedIn. To receive the premiere link, register here.