Micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are the growth accelerators or power fuel for the Indian economy, contributing about 30% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). In terms of exports, they are an integral part of the supply chain and contribute about 40% of the overall exports. MSMEs also play an important role in employment generation, as they employ about 110 million people across the country.
The rise in the MSME sector post-pandemic is a need of the hour necessity to recover the losses incurred due to lockdowns. As new businesses through employment generation help improve the financial condition of the working population.
New startups begin with problem-solving of prospect customers and communicate it to the product developer, and they come up with customized products. Starting from food products, health, and wellbeing products, we not only get our hands on variety but, we have products that help us solve our day-to-day problems specific to every customer. There is so much evolution when it comes to new products by new brands.
The first step of brainstorming ideas, research, and information gathering for new product development, until the final stage of receiving feedback and improving the products, according to customer feedback throughout the buyer, is the most valued.
When it is the virtual way of branding, advertising with the help of social media and, even evaluating results and receiving feedback from the end-user has become a one on one approach, today businesses have become a lot more flexible. The shift of mindset of the customers post-pandemic is another tool for the people in business.
1. Agro-based food processing startups as powerful MSMEs
Agriculture is the primary source of livelihood for about 58% of our population. The Indian food industry is poised for enormous growth, increasing its contribution to the world food trade every year due to its immense potential for value addition, particularly within the food processing industry. Indian food and grocery market is the world’s sixth-largest, with retail contributing 70% of the sales. The Indian food processing industry accounts for 32% of the country’s total food market, one of the largest industries in India, and is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export, and expected growth.
Now the agro-based food startups differentiate their products not only with concern to a variety of tastes and flavors But also come up with different products that do multiple functions of providing immunity, good health, and taste.
For holistic development in the MSME sector, there is a need for working together of the micro, medium, and small-scale enterprises. When people come together, the pooling of information, knowledge sharing, skill development happens. And for this, we today have the help of technology.
Business is these three power words is trust-building, value addition, profit-making.
The food processing sector brings the workforce from rural parts of the country and provides the necessary training and resources to help them become self-reliant business owners, which is the power of unity for the business development in the MSME sector.
India has the world’s largest population of about 500 million in the age bracket of 5-24 years, which provides vast opportunities for the education sector. DigitalEd and Binary Semantics have announced the formation of DigitalEd India, a joint venture that will bring the best-in-class digital learning to India in 2021. The latest trends to combine training methods that involve online learning with fun-filled games for children are expected to grow 38% in the next 2-4 years.
In April 2021, India along with, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria, and Pakistan, joined the United Nation’s E9 initiative. E9 initiative is the first of a three-phased process to co-create an initiative on digital learning and skills, targeting marginalized children and youth, especially girls. The initiative aims to accelerate recovery and advance the Sustainable Development Goal 4 agenda by driving rapid change in education systems. According to KPMG, India has also become the second-largest market for e-learning after the US.
2. Education and training based startups as Powerful MSMEs
The education sector, on the other hand, in its search of combating the need to help children learn despite the absence of everyday physical classrooms, has led to the rise of a variety of startups that provide online education.
These online platforms, own innovation as their prime tool, have come up with courses for storytelling, public speaking, and creative writing along with regular academics. To improve their soft skills and boost confidence levels of the creative young minds giving an interactive learning experience for the students of the digital era.
3. Women as pioneers of new MSME Startups
Indian textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy, dating back to several centuries. Defense Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is helping the Indian textile industry produce yarns and eliminate dependence on the import of foreign clothing for military uniforms. The Indian defense sector has expressed support towards the Indian technical textile sector.
The production of handloom products employed women from ancient times. And that makes the term working/career women a well-established concept of growth and development.
From art, handicrafts, homemade product formulations for skincare, haircare, baby care, business owners today have ventured into their entrepreneurial journey just by revisiting their roots.
Be it production of customized journals for mental health or authentic tea, coffee mix, artisanal vegan chocolates, to paper bags for disposal of sanitary napkins. Women entrepreneurs today have not left a single stone unturned for the growth of the MSME sector. Self-employed women have walked the evolutionary path of business from homemakers to entrepreneurial home bakers and from bread makers to bread earners.
From obtaining raw materials to production and packaging, there is a combination of involvement, dedication and, hard work of urban and rural workforce, for MSMEs to flourish in our country.
Top 6 strategies with which new MSME startups have evolved to be the best.
Top 8 strategies with which new MSME startups have evolved to be the best.
- Problem identification is the first step in providing the solution and, this has easy, budget-friendly than before with online surveys with the help of google forms.
- The product developer does research and gathers information on how to provide the product that solves the customer’s problem. Reliable information has become a cakewalk with the digital era.
- Product development has been refined with customized products that address issues specific to every target customer. For example, gluten-free, vegan, organic food products to the versatile preference of harmless products for self-care and wellbeing new product development today is a continuous path of improvement.
- Communication, branding and, advertisement to potential target customers have always been the heart of the business. But these powerful tools are redesigned to fit different social media channels.
- From improving the product based on competitive analysis to learning from previous trials and errors to receiving effective feedback from buyers, new startup companies can do with minimal effort, as they have affordable software solutions to support business.
- The new age MSMe startup companies have been actively allocating their funds not only in the production. But, also in both marketing and branding as it helps reach the target consumer through their business website and sell their product.
- With the help of freelance content writers, website developers, SEO experts, and influencers, startups in the digital era get people to spread word of mouth for their business by renewing their marketing strategy.
- E-commerce, as we all are aware, has become the way of life with the product reaching the doorstep of the consumer and, startups today have their delivery partners to get this done.
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Reference: https://www.ibef.org/industry/msme.aspx
Written by Sivaranjini Anandan
