SMEs – Accounting Immense Growth Possibilities

SMEs provide employment to approximately 50 million people, which is nearly 80 to 85 per cent of the employment. Interestingly, the volume of labor in this sector is estimated to be nearly four times higher than the large enterprises in the country! Why then we still reel under the mythical supremacy of multi-million conglomerates?

The De Facto!

The Milagrow World SME Conference 2009 stated that the SME sector is the second largest contributor in terms of GDP after the agriculture sector in the Indian economy. With the SME's huge contribution, India has achieved 7.98 per cent GDP growth despite the slowdown. According to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM), small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are expected to contribute 22 per cent to India's GDP by 2012 up from current about 17 per cent.

Well, all looks good! What’s the challenge then?

With the major world economies upscaling themselves towards being globalized, the social media and Internet technologies have emerged as the key players. One of the major factors hampering the SME growth is essentially the lack of a well defined and scalable ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) structure. ICT allow users to participate in a rapidly changing world in which work and other activities are increasingly transformed by access to varied and developing technologies.

SMEs should first focus on the need of access to new technologies to withstand and perform well through awareness by R&D and by using the latest technologies. Only a few SME's are able to market themselves in the international market and most of them are virtually ineffective.

Go to Market is a major challenge for the SMEs, they Need Business to Grow

The market today is more fierce and competitive, and needs much more than just than the less valued, price oriented way of businesses! The need exists for good valued, knowledge-based products, but if you're not able to present your products in the right manner, then the foresaid qualities might not really appeal! Therefore, bridging this B2B gap is certainly a quintessential factor.

There are several online B2B portals (IndiaMart being one of the market leaders in India) that offer a wide range of services specifically targeted at the SME sector. These services can be utilized for various aspects of marketing either for free or by spending some nominal amount.

Cost effective ways to reach out to your target audience: Online and the Mobile Media?

SMEs must know how to leverage the New Age media such as the Online and the Mobile, to effectively reduce down their time to market and also increase the outreach to their relevant target audience.

But how do SMEs learn all of this, while investing their crucial time?

IndiaMart and IAMAI have collaborated to bring the Conference on Low Cost and Free internet and Mobile Solutions for SMEs on July 6th 2010, at the India Habitat Center, New Delhi.

Register FREE NOW!!