FE Emerging Business Growth Workshops – Jaipur edition: The multi-city initiative, presented by Adobe, to support MSMEs with a platform for knowledge sharing, networking and collaboration in India’s regional business hubs kickstarted with the pink city of Jaipur on October 6. The half-day event, which had Tally Solutions as the Associate Partner, was packed with insightful panel discussions, masterclass, expert talk and more by the who’s who of Rajasthan’s MSME ecosystem involving 13 speakers from Rajasthan Financial Corporation, SIDBI, Laghu Udyog Bharati, Rajasthan Export Promotion Council, TiE Rajasthan, Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce & Industry, and others.
With nearly 14.5 lakh units registered with the MSME Ministry’s Udyam portal, which aims at formalising the unorganised segment of India Inc., Rajasthan has the fifth highest population of MSMEs eligible for various government benefits such as priority sector lending from banks. Within Rajasthan, Jaipur is the hub of MSMEs with over 3 lakh units.
The state is also the largest producer of blended fabric and wool in India and has the highest reserve of marble resources, limestone and sandstone in the country. In fact, in September 2022, the Rajasthan government launched its MSME Policy to set up 20,000 new MSMEs with a cumulative investment of Rs 10,000 crores and 1 lakh jobs.
Against this backdrop, the Jaipur workshop began with the Chief Guest Address by Balwant Singh Ligree, Executive Director, Rajasthan Financial Corporation (RFC). RFC, under the government of Rajasthan, aims to provide long-term financial support to the MSMEs in the state. The corporation also helps translate into practice the industrial policies and priorities of the central and the state governments to enable assistance for the development of industries in Rajasthan, particularly micro and small.
“MSMEs have been the essence of India’s economy, right since the time of the British era. Even Mahatma Gandhi emphasized the growth of MSMEs. However, since independence, we have not done enough,” said Ligree.
He informed that RFC has launched a Rs 10,000 crore project for the employment of 1 lakh people through 20,000 new MSMEs under the Rajasthan MSME policy 2022, working towards skill development, entrepreneurial development, credit guarantee, export linkage of MSMEs within the country and abroad, and promotion of startup ecosystem.
Moreover, Rajasthan MSMEs on the Udyam portal have 76 lakh people employed by them. “We rank 5th in terms of employment. We see a lot of potential in the MSME sector, backed by minerals, cement and agricultural sectors and a strong labour force, fulfilling the criteria of a strong MSME sector,” he noted.
The Chief Guest address was followed by the Keynote address by Vijay Kumar Sharma, Director, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise Development & Facilitation Office, Jaipur.
The institute provides techno-managerial consultancy to existing and prospective entrepreneurs and guides students on starting an enterprise. It facilitates an interface between various central & state government departments, institutions and other developmental functionaries for the promotion of MSMEs in Rajasthan.
Sharma informed the gathering that increased adoption of technology in various industries with the Center-State partnership is underway in the state under the MSME Cluster Development programme. He also underscored the challenges faced by MSMEs in exporting goods from Rajasthan and how technology can benefit them.
“We witness MSMEs facing difficulty in finding the right market. Large producers get a chance to sell online at marketplaces, but small producers struggle to do it. If we find a way to channelise products from small businesses, we can reach the $5 trillion economy target very soon. Digitising MSMEs and support from initiatives such as GeM and ONDC can help in this cause, he said.
Nonetheless, “Despite lean phases, Rajasthan is seeing upward trends in exports. We have reached Rs 73,000 crore of exports as a state and we aim for Rs 1 lakh crore worth of exports. We have a long way to go, but we will achieve it,” Sharma said.
The first panel discussion of the programme focused on the challenges faced by MSMEs in growing their venture in the state. The panel included Balwant Singh Chauhan, AGM – Product Excellence, Tally Solutions; Ghanshyam Ojha, National President, Laghu Udyog Bharati; KL Jain, President, Rajasthan Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Sheenu Jhawar, Director, Apex Hospitals and President, TiE Rajasthan. The panel was moderated by P R Sharma, CEO, Rajasthan Export Promotion Council.
Highlighting the challenge in acquiring land for business, Ojha said lack of road and rail connectivity, electricity and availability of credit were the basic challenges. Moreover, excessive licensing and competitive pricing have made it difficult to acquire land in developed industrial areas. It is necessary to expand industrialization to the rural areas.
However, “addressing internal issues such as manpower by perceiving them as a liability instead of an asset and externally, framing a policy without backing them with regulations and schemes cannot help the successful implementation,” said Jhawar.
On the technology side, Chauhan cautioned businesses that are not investing in technology to survive in future. He said, “Technological adoption has two aspects: the basic understanding of the business, and the initiatives of the government in the area. The last 10 years of the digitization movement have been equivalent to the 90s industrialization movement. Businesses that invest in the latest technology will survive, while the rest will fail.”
The event’s masterclass by Adobe explained the benefits of cloud adoption for efficient management of business documentation. “As a small business grows, it needs to have a digital setup to meet the changing needs that come along with that growth,” said Ketaki Rastogi, Solutions Consultant – Document Cloud, Adobe.
Rastogi noted how digitization through Adobe Acrobat can cut down lethargic manual processes into easier, speedier and more convenient digital processes, which businesses require to save important time.
The masterclass elucidated how Adobe’s Document Cloud solution encompassing a range of tools, such as Adobe Scan, Adobe Reader, Adobe Acrobat DC, Adobe Sign, and mobile applications, can empower SMEs to transform their manual document procedures into digital formats.
The second panel discussion of the programme discussed the working capital challenge faced by MSMEs in Rajasthan. The panellists were Ashok Kumar Pandey, General Manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI); Birajit Mohanty, Professor, Manipal University; Ravi Modani, Founder & CEO, 121 Finance; Ravi Sharma, Chief Financial Officer, Finova Capital.
“The challenge of efficiency in working capital management is majorly with the micro-enterprises. There can be a cluster-based system to implement efficiently. If we can arrange a sort of aggregation, it can be helpful too,” said SIDBI’s General Manager Ashok Kumar Pandey. Finova Capital’s Sharma noted that the biggest challenge is assessment (of the creditworthiness of MSMEs), which is why banks avoid financing small businesses, majorly due to a lack of documents. However, UPI and digital banking have helped strengthen the CIBIL of businesses, helping easier finance.”
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