Will offer tech tools for coronavirus vaccination, says Mukesh Ambani

Reliance head and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg bat for innovation

Asia’s richest man and the internet world’s most powerful name today met virtually to discuss the potential of digital innovation and technology to empower businesses and also make a meaningful impact in dealing with an extraordinary health emergency like Covid-19.
 

At the first edition of the two-day Facebook Fuel For India 2020 summit, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries, and Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, also spoke of Jio’s partnership with Facebook.
 

Reliance Jio, India’s largest telecom firm, is accelerating the drive to digitise retail businesses, Ambani said. Reliance, he added, is also working with the government to provide technology tools for the Covid-19 vaccination. “We are working very closely with all the authorities,” he said, “to make sure that we provide the technology tools and backbone for even vaccination in the coming quarters using technology.”
 

Ambani and Zuckerberg had cemented their business relations in April this year when Facebook invested Rs 43,574 crore for a 9.9 per cent stake in Jio Platforms. The two giants are now building upon the opportunities provided by the Covid-19 pandemic to digitally transform India.
 

Zuckerberg set the tone for the conversation, saying Facebook is “in the business of serving small businesses. And nowhere is this more true than in India”. With over 60 million small businesses and millions of people around India relying on them for jobs, these small businesses form a big part of what Facebook's partnership with Jio can serve, he said, adding, “This is especially important because small businesses in India will be a key part of the global economic recovery going forward. And we’re focused on making sure we build the best tools for them.”
 

"We support more than 50 million WhatsApp business app users globally every month already. And more than 15 million of these are in India," Zuckerberg said.
 

He then asked Ambani about the Covid-19 challenge and the opportunities it has presented to digitally transform businesses. Ambani spoke of harnessing technology for education, skill training and health care. Reliance, he said, can deliver good proactive health services by using emerging technology and integrations. "I firmly believe that technology, with all the digitisation steps that India has taken, will democratise wealth and value creation for individuals and small businesses.”
 

About the collaboration between Reliance’s retail arm JioMart and WhatsApp Pay, Ambani said it will enable retail transactions and bring in more wealth and employment opportunities. Facebook launched WhatsApp payments in India last month, enabling users to send money through WhatsApp. Zuckerberg said the payment system is being supported by 140 banks. In recent weeks, JioMart has raised Rs 47,000 crore from private equity investors and is expanding in various segments, from fashion to food, as it builds its e-commerce business.
 

Ambani also said, “Together with our platforms and the tools that we will provide to small businesses and to individual consumers, I believe will drive India to a Rs 5-trillion economy and will make a much more equal India, with more equal wealth growth at the bottom of the pyramid.”