October 29, 2018
The training will focus on how the WhatsApp Business app can help Indian entrepreneurs to connect with their customers and grow their businesses
WhatsApp and CII will also work to enhance business communication for Indian entrepreneurs through CII’s SME Technology Facilitation Centre
India’s MSME sector has helped in raising India’s contribution to the global manufacturing and services sector, thus helping expand in global value chain
As of 2017, there were over 46 million MSMEs in India; In February, the Government has also launched CriSidEx, India’s first sentiment index for MSEs
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) said on October 29 that it would partner with WhatsApp, a Facebook-run global messaging platform, to train thousands of small-medium business owners (SMEs) and entrepreneurs across India. The training will focus on how the WhatsApp Business app can help Indian entrepreneurs to connect with their customers and grow their businesses. Meanwhile, WhatsApp and CII will work to enhance business communication for Indian SMEs through CII’s SME Technology Facilitation Centre. The centre, set up in November 2016, creates awareness amongst SMEs in India on technological solutions that can be optimally adopted to enhance their overall competitiveness.
CII said that there will be on-ground trainings around India to explain the features and best practices on the app. Additionally, business owners located in the hinterland can attend the training webinars to help them grow and expand their businesses. As per a survey showing the economic impact of WhatsApp in India, 70 per cent of SMEs on WhatsApp in India say that they built their business on the platform. Also, 78 per cent of these SMEs say that they have increased sales because of WhatsApp. Until the launch of the WhatsApp Business app, small businesses did not have a way to use messaging platforms for trade. WhatsApp is India’s largest messaging platform with payment feature backed by UPI payment system.
Launched in January 2018, the WhatsApp Business app already has more than 3 million users worldwide. Together, WhatsApp and CII will develop content to be distributed among entrepreneurs both in physical and digital formats. To aid the process, WhatsApp will also give workshops to CII team members across the state, to expand content dissemination and offer local support for cities across India. India’s MSME sector has helped in raising India’s contribution to the global manufacturing and services sector. As of last year, there were more than 46 million MSMEs in India employing over 100 million people. In February, the Government has also launched CriSidEx, India’s first sentiment index for MSEs.
The training material will be available on the CII SME website (www.ciisme.in).