Small Business Boost: Facebook hikes investments in Indian SMEs

Hyderabad: Facebook India today said it is increasing its investments in small businesses in the country with the first of many Small Business Boost events. “There are 1.49 billion people on Facebook, which is half of the estimated three billion people who use the Internet worldwide,” Head of Economic Growth Initiatives for Facebook India, Ritesh Mehta said.[caption id=“attachment_2356042” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational Image. Reuters[/caption] “That’s a compelling audience for a small business who is looking to find new customers, deepen relationships with existing customers and boost sales. More than 1.5 million small businesses in India are already using Facebook Pages to take advantage of this community to grow their customer reach,” Mehta said. Helping to advance the government’s Digital India and Skills India vision, Facebook’s Small Business Boost programme has been designed to arm Indian businesses with the knowledge, skills and technology required to stay innovative and connect with customers at home and abroad, a company statement said. In support of Facebook’s Small Business Boost programme, Telangana’s IT Minister KT Rama Rao will co-host and kick-off the first event in Hyderabad, it further added. Rama Rao said there are more than 36 million SMEs in the country providing employment to 80 million people and form the backbone of the Indian economy. “As people spend more time plugged into their smartphones and on the Internet, these small businesses have a unique opportunity to capture new audiences, increase sales and grow by using social media. “Facebook’s Small Business Boost events will serve as a tremendous resource for these businesses as experts and small business themselves offer training on best practices for growing a small business online,” the minister said. At these events, attendees will engage with a broad selection of small business peers and Facebook experts to learn and share their experiences of growing an online business in today’s global economy. Hands-on training sessions will include how to effectively use mobile to reach international audiences and boost the brand online, the statement added. PTI