Tag: Business in India

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Strategy

COVID-19 Impact: 5 Tips to Help Your Businesses Recover from Coronavirus Pandemic

Businesses in India (Photo Credits: Pexels)

Businesses have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and are now limping back to normalcy. The Indian economy is now expected to see a faster turnaround with less disruptions to business operations as it opens up gradually. The coronavirus lockdown forced several businesses to shut while consumption slumped, investments took a hit and jobs were lost. In the time of crisis, it can be hard to stay calm, be optimistic and find ways and means to drive your business. For entrepreneurs and business leaders, being calm and working under pressure is part of the job.

In this article, we’ve put together some ideas that will help you in business recovery. Your business recovery may not happen overnight, but you can make it achievable by trying and not giving up.

Here are 4 Tips that can help your Businesses Recover from COVID-19 Pandemic

Strategic Marketing Plan

The pandemic and the lockdown slowed down the world. However, this time can be utilised by business leaders to strategically think about different ways to establish themselves in the market again once things get normal. An entrepreneur need to think of ways that can help them establish the brand identity again in the market. You need to understand your competitors and work on the leads.

Expect Delayed Payments

Businesses have witnessed a lull amid the coronavirus crisis. As businesses struggle to get back to normalcy, you can expect any restart to be a little sluggish. Almost all of us are going to be in the same boat. As you are struggling to re-establish a healthy cash flow, it’s highly likely your customers will be grappling with that too.

Look For New Sales Channels

As people now prefer being home as a precautionary measure amid the pandemic, this gives an entrepreneur a chance to establish and look for new sales channels to sell their products. Find out ways to serve your clients and customers via alternative sales channels. If you have a retail business and the pandemic has hit you hard and there is no footfall, trying looking for e-commerce offerings. If you are into hotel business, majority of people are trying and avoiding meeting at public places, in such case, you can be open for takeaways meals instead.

Review Your Website and Enhance Digital Marketing

As the economy opens, this is an opportunity for you to review your website and update the information with latest trends and demands. Take a look at your competitor’s websites and try to understand if you can add more value to your content, which will help you stand out from the rest in the market. Go digital and promote your website on social media platforms like Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter among others. Try to build a marketing strategy if you are not already doing so. Having a plan and campaign ready as social media marketing campaigns can connect your targeted audience with a marketing message immediately.

Communicate Openly With Your Customers

‘A Customer is the King’ is an age-old business mantra which shows the importance of customers in every business. Businesses that treat their customers as king have reported higher returns than their competitors who puts little to the value of the customers. Hence, be open and clear with your customers and understand their demands. Don’t just sell your product, but provide solutions to them. If this your mantra, no force can stop you from succeeding and taking your business to another level.

 

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Technology

‘Nayi Shuruaat’, a Campaign Launched by Facebook to Celebrate the Success of Small Businesses in India Amid Crisis; All You Need to Know

Facebook (Photo Credits: Pexels)

In a bid to spread the success of the small business and their growth in India, social media giant Facebook on Tuesday launched ‘Nayi Shuruaat’. The newly launched campaign celebrates the small businesses of across the country. The campaign will help these businesses crawl back to normalcy and make a new start or a ‘Nayi Shuruaat’ amidst the deepest crisis the world has seen in recent times. The campaign by Facebook celebrates many such real stories of optimism, strength, and economic recovery from across the country. Facebook on Tuesday said that it is committed to help India quickly recover economically and socially in 2021 from the pandemic-hit year, by deepening support for small businesses and test and roll its new features from the country to the rest of the world.

About ‘Nayi Shuruaat’ campaign:

  1. The ‘Nayi Shuruaat’ campaign was launched during Facebook’s ‘Fuel for India’ event. It is an ode to the resilience of small businesses amid crisis.
  2. Nayi Shuruaat celebrates many such real stories of optimism, strength, and economic recovery from across the country
  3. Several such stories were also be unveiled during the upcoming Facebook Fuel for India virtual event on December 15 and December 16.
  4. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg via a virtual address during the event said that India’s building local capabilities and tech capacity to power innovative new business models and provide the citizens access to digital financial inclusion.

Facebook said it will continue to work closely with key partners to build a stronger ecosystem for small business growth in the country by investing in skilling programmes such as Boost with Facebook, entering in key partnerships such as with venture capital funds for the VC Brand Incubator program, and by giving people new ways to support small businesses such as the Instagram Food Stickers.

Zuckerberg on Tuesday said its partnership with Jio Platforms will help support millions of small businesses in India. Zuckerberg made the remark during a conversation with Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries at the first Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event.

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Business motivation Finance

India Emerges As Top Choice for Future Investments in the Next 2-3 Years: Survey

New Delhi, October 14: Business in India that have been severely affected by COVID-19 this year, have been limping back to normalcy over the past one month or so. Reports inform that India is believed to emerge as one of the top three choices for overseas investments in the next 2-3 years, a CII-EY FDI survey report showed on Tuesday. According to the survey, India is the first choice for future investments for more than two-thirds of the MNC respondents. The CII-EY FDI survey also showed that 25 percent of the respondents, who represent non-Indian HQ MNCs, view India as the first choice for future investments.

The report said more than 80 percent of all the respondents and 71 percent of the non-Indian headquartered respondents plan to make investments globally in the next 2-3 years. Moreover about 30 percent of companies are planning to invest more than $500 million. About 50 percent of the respondents see India among the top three economies or leading manufacturing destinations of the world by 2025.

According to a report by IANS, the respondents have picked market potential, skilled workforce and political stability as the top three reasons to make India their favoured destination. The other key factors which contribute to the attractiveness of India as an investment destination include cheap labour availability, policy reforms, and availability of raw materials, the report said.

“Recent reforms in the country such as corporate tax cuts, ease of doing business measures, simplification of labour laws, FDI reforms, and focus on human capital have emerged as the top drivers for fresh investments,” the report said. “Non-Indian HQ MNCs have also opined that major investment in infrastructure and 100 Smart cities as well as financial sector reforms will also help establishing India as a favourable destination for FDI,” it said.

The survey brought out some key recommendations sought by the respondents. The report said infrastructure development, faster clearances, and proper implementation of the improved labour laws and labour availability as the top three issues that the companies want the government to focus on, followed by R&D and innovation, and tax reforms. “In terms of trade policy reforms, investors would like to see a faster turnaround time for exports and imports, improved cargo handling, and trade facilitation measures to be in place”, it added.

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MSME

ECLGS for MSMEs: Banks Sanction Rs 1.87 Lakh Cr to 50.7 Lakh Business Units Under Credit Guarantee Scheme

Money (Photo Credits: Unsplash)

New Delhi, October 10: In a bid to help the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector, which has been the worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finance Ministry announced that banks have sanctioned loans of about Rs 1,87,579 crore to 50.7 lakh business units under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector. Reports inform that of the 50.7 lakh business units, about 27 lakh MSME units received cumulative disbursement of Rs 1,36,140 crore till October 5.

The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May 2020 to mitigate the distress caused by lockdown due to COVID-19 by providing credit to different sectors, especially MSMEs. As released by the Finance Ministry, the latest numbers on ECLGS comprise disbursements by all 12 public sector banks (PSBs), 24 private sector banks and 31 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).

“As of 5 Oct 2020, the total amount sanctioned under the 100% Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme by PSBs, private banks & NBFCs to MSMEs and individuals stands at Rs 1,87,579 cr, of which Rs 1,36,140 cr has already been disbursed,” the finance minister said in a tweet. The loan amounts sanctioned by PSBs increased to Rs 81,648.82 crore, of which Rs 68,814.43 crore has been disbursed as of October 5, Sitharaman further added. At the same time, private sector banks have sanctioned Rs 86,576 crore of loans and disbursed Rs 59,740 crore, while NBFCs sanctioned Rs 3,032 crore with disbursement of Rs 2,227 crore.

“The ambit of the Scheme was expanded to include MSMEs with turnover of up to Rs 250 crore & individuals for business purposes. As of 05 Oct 2020, Rs 17,460 crore of loans to individuals have been sanctioned, of which Rs 5,939 crore has been disbursed,” she in a tweet. In another tweet, Sitharaman said as many as 33 stranded housing projects with investment of Rs 4,197 crore were accorded final approval under the SWAMIH scheme. “Special window for Affordable & Mid Income Housing Fund (SWAMIH) is working at a fast pace to provide relief to homeowners. As on 05.10.2020, 33 projects with investment of Rs 4,197 cr accorded final approval & will lead to completion of 25,048 home units,” the finance minister said in tweet.

The overall, 123 projects have now been sanctioned, including final approval to 33 projects, with an investment of Rs 12,079 crore that would target to provide relief to 81,308 homeowners, she said. On May 20, the Cabinet approved additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore at a concessional rate of 9.25 per cent through ECLGS for MSME sector.

Under the scheme, 100 percent guarantee coverage will be provided by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company (NCGTC) for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency (MUDRA) borrowers in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility. According to a report by PTI, for this purpose, a corpus of Rs 41,600 crore was set up by the government, spread over the current and next three financial years. The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till the amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier.

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Startup

Starting Up a Business: 5 Things Young Entrepreneurs Should Know to Make Their Business a Success

Entrepreneur (Photo Credits: Unsplash)

It might seem hard to start to a business, but when the entrepreneurial project gets going, the brain behind it rejoices. However, in order to make your business a success, there are several things that you need to consider before you start your business. Young entrepreneur venturing into a new business, keep looking for ways and means to help them achieve their goals. Young entrepreneurs are at an age where they need a platform to prove their caliber. They want to run something of their own, create more job opportunities and be a part of the growing India.

Here Are 5 Things That Young Entrepreneurs Ought to Keep in Mind:

  1. Know your product: The first important thing before starting any business is that the entrepreneur should know in and out about his product. He should first, himself, know what is product is all about, how well he can pitch about it in the market, what is the demand of the product, and so many other related questions. A young individual will always know what is in trend and things that work in a market.
  2. Know your market: Understand who your target audience is! Before starting up a business, a young entrepreneur should very well understand what the need of the hour. Of course, there are other competitors in the market, so a beginner should consider all the risk factors before venturing into something new.
  3. Do what you love: Take your time and understand what you love. Let your passion be the driver for your product or service, which will always keep you motivated and get you going through the tough times. Before starting up a business, one should think with a calm mind as to what one loves because when you work on something that you actually care and love, you’ll probably be happy and make the idea a reality.
  4. Find a mentor: No matter how intelligent you are, you may falter! Hence, it becomes really important to find a mentor who can guide you and let you know when you go wrong. Find someone who can open your mind and share your ideas with. Surely, your ideas will be shaped in a better manner which will be easier for execution.
  5. Perseverance and Patience: The most important trait of any businessman is perseverance and patience. These 2 Ps go hand-in-hand and help people to get better and win laurels in their work. Once you have thought about an idea, don’t give up and work on it until you make it a success. For young entrepreneur, it is an added advantage that they have time, even if Plan A doesn’t work, then be ready with Plan B. There might be rough moments in your entrepreneurial journey but you have to keep working towards your goal.
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E-Commerce Finance

Essential Commodities to Fuel Revival of Retail Sector in India As Consumer Expenditure Remains Focused on Essentials, Says Report

Retail Sector (Photo Credits: Pexels)

A recent study has revealed that the demand for essential commodities is likely to drive the revival of the retail sector in India. According to a report by Anarock Retail and the Retailers Association of India (RAI) titled ‘Indian Retail – Certainty Despite Headwinds’, the average bill value for essentials has gone up 1.5 times after lifting of lockdown — from Rs 650 per basket in early March to more than Rs 900 per basket presently.

“Amidst the pandemic-induced slowdown, essential goods will fuel Indian retail industry’s growth in the coming quarters as consumer expenditure continues to remain focused on essentials, particularly food and grocery,” said a joint statement by Anarock and the RAI.

Anuj Kejriwal, MD & CEO of Anarock Retail, was quoted by IANS saying that COVID-19 will work as a catalyst for the growth of organised retail and e-commerce in India. “Online spending is on a marked rise with online shoppers projected to increase from 15 per cent in 2019 to 50 per cent of the total online population by 2026”, Kejriwal added. The CEO of Anarock Retail further added saying that other new retail industry trends, omni-channel retailing is evolving rapidly with brands collaborating actively to enhance their reach and many are using malls or in-mall stores as urban warehouses to ensure a faster delivery to customers.

The report further adds that organised retail and e-commerce are on an upswing. Giving details of the revival of several retail sectors, the report added that food and grocery, followed by apparel, fast moving consumer durables (FMCD) and electronics, furniture and home furnishings and quick service restaurants (QSR) will see a “v-shaped” recovery within the next two to three quarters. Meanwhile, several other segments including beauty, wellness and personal care and home essentials may take 4-6 quarters to recover fully, the report said.

Citing IBEF data, the report adds that the share of Indian organised retail will double to 18 percent in 2021, from 9 percent in 2017. Similarly, the e-commerce is expected to more than double to 7 per cent from the previous 3 per cent in the same period.

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI) was quoted in the report saying that Omni-channel was gaining importance before the pandemic and the pandemic has enhanced the importance of retailers having an omni-channel strategy.

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Business motivation Strategy

Jio Platforms’ Success and Growth Gives Hope to Struggling Indian IT Vendors Impacted by COVID-19 Pandemic, Says GlobalData

Businesses (Photo Credits: Pexels)

Hyderabad, September 1: Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, many Indian IT vendors are struggling, having been affected considerably over the last few months. However, Mukesh Ambani-led Jio Platforms has transformed into a tech juggernaut during this hour of crisis.Global technology companies have seen a surge in their valuation over the past six months – with the most notable example being Apple passing the USD 2 trillion mark in market capitalization (MCap) value.

On the other hand, many Indian IT vendors are struggling as they have been largely affected by the COVID-19 outbreak. While traditional Indian IT services giants have been waiting to tide over the impact of the pandemic, Jio Platforms has transformed into a tech powerhouse. A study by GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, stated that while it may be difficult for others to replicate what Jio has achieved, the interest in Jio will definitely augur well for other Indian technology companies at a time when enterprises across the world are gearing up for digitization.

Nishant Singh, Director of Technology at GlobalData, said that while Indian IT vendors seeing such stark contrast to global counterparts is unfortunate, this is just the nature of the IT services business model, which, in contrast to software, needs projects in the pipeline. “With the COVID-19 outbreak, enterprises halted all non-critical expenses, including plans to upgrade or transform their IT infrastructure. This has had an impact on Indian IT companies, since most of their revenues are from IT services”, Singh said.

He added saying that a lot of the faith in global technology companies comes from the fact that they have a pretty robust suite of intellectual property, including hardware, software and ecosystems that serve consumers and enterprises alike. “The growth in stock prices merely reaffirms that technology companies – primarily ‘Big Tech’ companies – are well poised to tide over the pandemic-induced recession”, he said.

A report by news agency ANI stated that big IT companies such as TCS, Infosys, Wipro and HCL have traditionally been IT services giants. The report adds that unlike their counterparts in the software space, IT services companies typically do not have a large stash of intellectual property, making it slightly difficult for the market to distinguish between the IT services companies. Despite these struggles, the near future should see the market showing more confidence in the traditional Indian IT vendors.

Singh further added saying with enterprises across the world now gearing up for digitization, Indian IT services vendors are set to witness a lot of action. Coupled with the market euphoria witnessed for Jio, the technology landscape in India will witness a drastic revival in investor confidence.

Jio Platforms Limited is an Indian digital services company. It is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited which was established in 2019. The company owns India’s largest mobile network operator Jio and other digital businesses of Reliance. On 8 May 2020, Jio Platforms was reported to be the fourth largest Indian company by market capitalization. Since April 2020, Reliance Industries has raised Rs 152,056 crore (US$21 billion) by selling 32.97% equity stake in Jio Platforms.

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Business motivation Strategy

Women Entrepreneurship, Women-Backed SMEs Can Help in Accelerating GDP Growth in India, Says Study

Women Entrepreneurship (Photo Credits: Pexels)

A recent study has revealed that if women entrepreneurship in India is given a push, it can accelerate the GDP growth in the country. As the country is focused on becoming self-reliance and achieving a $5 trillion economy, a report has suggested that a major emphasis on women entrepreneurship and women-backed small business can create a ripple effect in India’s GDP.

According to a joint study by Global Alliance for Mass Entrepreneurship (GAME) and Sattva, women-owned enterprises represent only 20 percent of all enterprises across the country. These enterprises hire 10 percent of the total workforce. The study revealed that women entrepreneurship presents a significant opportunity to strengthen employment and can create a ripple effect on India’s GDP; but the growth of women-owned businesses needs a greater push.

The study, which is centered around Bengaluru, points that there is an urgent need to increase sales and marketing channels and make women finance ready so that they can access capital for their businesses. “While women entrepreneurs in the region face formidable challenges, the combination of new market platforms, peer-support networks, and capital will make women entrepreneurs a force to reckon with before the end of the decade”, the study said.

According to the survey, quoted by IANS, a total of 53 percent of the participants had their monthly household income below Rs 50,000 while 84 percent women entrepreneurs use personal savings for capital needs and also tend to rely on friends and family. Meanwhile, around 97 percent of the women entrepreneurs hired less than five paid employees or workers. The study reveals that 67 percent entrepreneurs had been running their businesses for under five years and for all entrepreneurs, COVID-19 has reduced their revenues by 60-80 percent.

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Finance Startup

Why Do Investors Invest in Startups? Here’s How Investors Add Value to Startups and Help Entrepreneurs

Startups and Investors (Photo Credits: Pexels)

For any business to flourish, there needs to be good investment and planning that will help the firm reach its target audience and go beyond! Here’s where the role of an investor comes into picture. An investor puts capital to use for long-term gains, while an entrepreneur seeks to generate profits by using those funds. Thus an investor is a crucial aspect for any startup, who typically generates returns by deploying capital. Investing in startups is a risky proposition. However, the low requirement for overhead capital along with high upside potential, makes it lucrative for the investors to put their bets on startups.

Basically, an investor is a person that allocates capital with the expectation of a future financial return or to gain an advantage. An investor can choose to invest in-equity, debt securities, real estate, currency, commodity, token, derivatives such as put and call options, futures, etc.

According to the official website of Startup India- startupindia.gov.in, investors particularly venture capitalists (VCs) add value to startups in a lot of ways. Some of them are listed below:

  1. Stakeholder Management: The investors are the ones who manage the company board and leadership to facilitate smooth operations of the startup. Moreover, their functional experience and domain knowledge of working and investing with startups imparts vision and direction to the company.
  2. Raise Funds: Investors are best guides for the startup as they help to raise subsequent rounds of funding on the basis of stage, maturity, sector focus etc. The investors aid in networking and connection for the founders to pitch their business to other investors.
  3. Recruiting The Best to Achieve Business Goals: Finding great talent and best-fit human capital is critical for startups, especially when it comes to recruiting senior executives to manage and drive business goals. The venture capitalists, with their extensive network can help bridge the talent gap by recruiting the right set of people at the right time.
  4. Proper Marketing of the product: The venture capitalists (VCs) assist with marketing strategy for your product/service.
  5. Merger and Acquisition (M&A) Activity: VCs have their eyes and ears open to merger and acquisition opportunities in the local entrepreneurial ecosystem to enable greater value addition to the business through inorganic growth.
  6. Organizational Restructuring:As a young startup grows to an established company, they help with the right organizational structuring and introduce processes to increase capital efficiency, lower costs and scale efficiently.
Categories
Business motivation Process & Business Expansion

5 Business Tips Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Business Tips | Representational Image Only (Photo Credits: Pexels)

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the entire dynamics of running businesses. Running a business is hard, but if one puts in consistent efforts, no one can diminish the spark of an entrepreneur. One has to be really focused and have a positive mindset to succeed and to gain a competitive advantage over rivals. It becomes the need of the hour to make yourself and your business strong and worthy enough to deal with the perils of new entrants in the market.

Insulating yourself from such threats will not only help you grow your business, but also focus on trying to survive in the market at times of crisis. Being an entrepreneur in any sector should fill a hole in a certain market or niche.

Here are 5 Business Tips that Every Entrepreneur Should Know

Customers First: Listen to Them

The most important feature that a successful entrepreneur should possess is the quality of listening. The more you listen, the better you understand the problems of your customers. The quality of listening not only helps you focus on finding a solution, but also makes your customers happy as you give them a patient listening.

Trust Your Gut

Believe it or not, you need to trust your gut as it helps you make the right decision. This phrase is often used but rarely understood. Folks out there in the market are looking to solve a problem or find a particular type of product. If you trust your gut and give an idea a shot, who know? Your idea may be a hit!

Track Your Finances Inside And Out

A successful entrepreneur is the one who knows the key to access and manage the finances in a proper manner. If one knows the finances inside-out, keeps a record of the spending and earnings and plans accordingly, nothing like it! An entrepreneur should be well versed with the the firm’s revenues, expenses, capital requirements, profits (gross and net), debt, cash flow among other things. Spending are always easy, earning them takes a great deal of effort.

Be A Solution, Not A Problem

People out there have a lot of problems already. You be the solution! Provide solutions by listening to your customer’s grievances.  It’s a lot easier to gain a solid customer base when your business is fixing a problem. Just sit, be quiet, and listen to yourself.

Never Stop Looking for New Ideas

Be open to new idea. A successful entrepreneur is the one who should be open to fresh ideas even if after reaching a certain level of success. When one is open to fresh deals, the business has the potential to reach a next level altogether. The most successful businesses are always on the lookout for new ideas and useful business tricks that they can use.