Digital Technology and MSME: A Future Ahead

Digital technology has become the new normal in recent times. It has a huge impact on our day-to-day lives as well as the global economy. It is helping businesses flourish domestically as well as globally. Dell’s Digital Transformation Index 2020 surveyed over forty thousand business leaders globally and reported that eight out of ten organizations fast-tracked their digital transformation programs in 2020. In this new world, it is discernable that technology is not a choice but a core business strategy to become successful. Digital transformation can help in better cooperation within and between organizations, better and healthier customer engagement, a higher array of products and employment along with more exact insights from data. All of these lead a business to grow and thrive.

A report by KPGM and Google disclosed that when SMBs embrace digital technologies it increases their profits by 50% faster, access to new markets is 51% higher, and employ up to five times more people as compared to 29% of offline SMBs. 

Due to the pandemic, India faced a huge loss when several of India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) were shut down. MSMEs play a crucial role in the Indian economy by contributing to 30% percent of India’s GDP. A survey by Narendra Modi suggested that about 9% of all MSMEs had completely shut down due to COVID-19. Another report in May suggested that out of the 6000 surveyed MSMEs, 59% of them were planning to shut down by the end of 2021. MSMEs behave like entrepreneurs by adding products to the market which target the specific needs of the country and hence help to generate employment at the local level. A survey conducted by the India SME forum revealed that 50% of MSMEs know about the advantages of using digital technologies. Yet 70%of MSMEs lack the knowledge and understanding of digital tools. 

Insufficient access to finance leading to lack of capital is a common issue faced by MSME. This results in poor technological infrastructure and thus leads to low-quality production. This cycle continues and avoids people from learning about digital technologies. Lack of tech-savvy and knowledgeable employees makes digital innovation impossible. These constraints make it difficult for the Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises to spread their wings to their fullest. Overcoming these constraints would offer a blooming chance to strengthen the foundation of their company. 

The pandemic became a revolutionary phase for the MSMEs. The India SME ministry is working hard towards narrowing the digital gap by conducting informative workshops and helping these important companies to cope up and surge their businesses. 

Innovation has been made easier by new technologies. It is necessary to catch up with the trend and regularly upgrade your products to increase sales in the digital world. Technologies like AI/ML, loT, Data Intelligence can greatly increase small businesses by giving customers a quality experience and creating an informative and authentic online presence. An authentic presence is necessary to attract a crowd that will help the company to have a reliable and consistent image in the market. These business tools will help small enterprises to compete with large business tycoons. 

MSMEs are the pillars of the Indian economy and need to be revived and strengthened for a prosperous economy. They play a role in the economic growth of our country and the upliftment of the socio-economic sections of the country. Digital platforms can bring about momentous changes in MSMEs with the help of appropriate business strategies. The Ministry of MSMEs provides various learning programs and schemes to help understand and adapt to ever-changing digital technologies. They have a registration portal named Udyam where one can register oneself to know about the beneficial policies that the government gives. With the right usage of digital technologies along with appropriate business strategies, small businesses can flourish in both national and international markets.

Source: indiainfoline.com