On the occasion of World MSME Day on June 27th, Meta has reiterated its commitment to the growth of India’s small businesses by announcing two new skilling programs in the country. Meta announced a new partnership with the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) to upskill 1 million traders on WhatsApp Business App over the next three years.
The company has also announced the launch of Meta Small Business Academy, which was born out of Meta’s commitment in 2021 to up-skill 10 million small businesses. A certification by Meta Small Business Academy will especially help new entrepreneurs and marketers gain critical digital marketing skills to grow on the Meta apps. To enable the program to reach MSMEs across India, the course module and the examination are available in seven languages – English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu.
Said Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President (India), at Meta, “Skilling plays a consequential role in unlocking growth for India’s MSMEs. At Meta, we are committed to enabling timely skill development opportunities for businesses across their growth journeys. While the MSBA certification will particularly benefit entrepreneurs who are just starting out, our partnership with CAIT will empower traders across India to use WhatsApp Business app to connect with their customers and supercharge their growth journeys.”
A Meta commissioned survey by IPSOS Public Affairs done in 2022 showed that 91% of surveyed small and medium enterprises currently using digital tools in India reported that messaging apps and tools are a very important way to connect with customers, and more than half said that WhatsApp has helped their business increase access to new customers. With WhatsApp becoming a natural way for people to interact with one another, it’s emerging as a preferred medium for people to also connect with businesses.
Said Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), “Technology and internet along with networking, logistics, and communication are the five critical pillars for India’s trading community. With businesses of all sizes using WhatsApp to communicate, coordinate, and connect with their customers effectively, there is an urgent need to equip them with timely skills needed to drive business growth. Under the ‘WhatsApp Se Vyapaar’ campaign, we are thrilled to announce that we will work with Meta to train 1 million traders to digitally empower traders to boost their businesses using the WhatsApp Business App. We believe this initiative will unlock new growth opportunities for traders across India, and we look forward to partnering even more closely with Meta to expand the business and digital skilling charter in the months to come in order to address the evolving needs of the trading community.”
The partnership between CAIT and Meta will be conducted through thousands of trade associations connected with CAIT all over the Country.
Over the last few years, Meta has launched several key programs keeping in mind the unique needs of India’s MSMEs. Several of these have been launched with Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI), which serves as a strategic partner to Meta in empowering India’s MSMEs through skilling.
Dr. Sangita Reddy, Chair, G20 EMPOWER, Joint MD, Apollo Hospitals Group and Past President, FICCI said, “FICCI and Meta share a deep commitment towards the growth of India’s small businesses. Last year we together reached the important milestone of enabling half-a-million women SMBs by providing them with digital marketing skills. We’re thrilled to see Meta expand its skilling commitment towards India’s small businesses with the launch of the Meta Small Business Academy certification. Additionally, Meta is supporting FICCI on Digital Financial Literacy through its work on G20 EMPOWER Digital Inclusion Platform, which is a commendable effort towards promoting women’s digital and financial inclusion. We look forward to partnering with Meta in the future to build a strong ecosystem for small businesses across the country, especially women-led businesses.”
