Digitalisation is the only way to increase esports and accelerate domestic growth
The Indian ecommerce market is one of the fastest growing in the world,
and is estimated to grow to $200 billion by 2026. It has transformed the way businesses are carried out in India, especially in the last 20 months, hand holding small businesses to leverage online platforms to access wider audiences, scale-up production, and accelerate digital transformation.
The significance of the MSME sector is evident from the government’s numerous initiatives to boost its growth, making MSMEs more robust, competitive, and resilient in the national as well as in the global scenarios. With the need for accelerated digitisation across sectors, brought about by the pandemic, it has become crucial to incentivise MSMEs to leverage the opportunities of ecommerce to digitise, move online, and build digital infrastructure that better facilitates technology adoption.
In a session organised by India SME Forum (ISF) to extoll the virtue of ecommerce to local and small sellers, Former Chairman of Competition Commission of India (CCI) Dhanendra Kumar spoke to over 1200 sellers part of ISF Gujarat chapter, emphasising how ecommerce is a great leveler between large and small sellers, presenting an opportunity to serve customers beyond the immediate locality.
He highlighted that it provides an accessibility to hassle-free cross-border trade, enabling exports through already established infrastructure and supply chain.
During the discussion, he also mentioned about the PM’s $400 bn target for exports and how ecommerce will be an important channel to achieve the same.
According to a recent NASSCOM report, ecommerce exports will be $125 billion by 2030. Therefore, it becomes the need of the hour to help local products gain access to international markets through ecommerce and simplify compliances and regulatory requirements for e-commerce exports.
“DigitaliSation is the only way to increase exports and accelerate domestic growth in the country. MSMEs should create ecommerce profiles, accept digital payments, use advanced analytical tools, improve logistic services,
integrate shipping services, and effectively use social media platforms to leverage their growth,” said Dhanendra Kumar.
He also brought in the importance of global marketplace players like Amazon with programmes
such as Local Shops that enable small sellers to increase their footprint, or ‘I Have Space (IHS), a lastmile delivery program. It is evident that programmes such as these have been able to empower and unlock the entrepreneurial potential of many mom and pop kirana store owners, who deliver for Amazon to supplement their income.
He concluded by saying that Indians are already leading the charge in major corporations globally. Hence, it is essential for Indian businesses to follow suit and take advantage of the opportunities that come with the onset of the festive season and cater to the increasing demand and purchasing power of the economy.
