Facebook in the process of monetising business in India, says COO Sheryl Sandberg

New Delhi: With over 100 million users and900,000 small and medium businesses on board in India, theworld’s largest social networking site Facebook is in theprocess of monetising its business in India, Chief OperatingOfficer Sheryl Sandberg said today.

India has the second-largest user base for Facebook,after the US.

“We have invested heavily in India. India is one of thebig bets for us. We are in the process of monetising here,”
she told reporters. Sandberg did not disclose details.

[caption id=“attachment_89631” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Sandberg is in India presently. AP image[/caption]

“India is our second-largest market and it has a lot ofpotential. US is our largest market, but in terms of people on
our network, there is a huge opportunity for us,” she said.

Globally, Facebook has more than 1.2 billion users.She added that about 900,000 SMBs have pages on Facebook
on which they can advertise and reach out to potentialcustomers. These pages appear in news feeds of users, which
the company claims are “personalised”.

“Some percentage of these SMBs are paying for the pageproduct. This explains lot of growth here. Business here
contributes globally,” she said.

Sandberg added that the company wants to “enablecommerce” – help small and medium businesses to find
customers and expand their business, in turn helping Facebookgrow.

Facebook has set up one of its four global operationscentres in India, the others being in Dublin, Austin and
California.

“India is not just contributing to development but alsobusiness,” she said.

Sandberg said Facebook is engaging actively with variousstakeholders such as the government, NGOs, companies, telecomoperators and handset makers to provide access to the Internetfor the next billion population.

“You can expect more. We want to ensure that access toInternet is faster, better and cheaper. We are making seriousinvestments,” Sandberg said, adding that Facebook’s mission isto help people across the globe “connect and communicate”.

Talking about her experience in India as a World Bankassociate working on a leprosy health initiative, Sandberg
said India has changed a lot since her first visit.

“When I came in 1991, I remember sending faxes to familyand friends. India has changed a lot. It’s a part of the
global economy,” she said.

PTI