BSE joins hands with Telangana govt to help MSMEs raise equity funds

Major stock exchange BSE on Monday said it has joined hands with the Telangana government, alongwith GlobalLinker, to help micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) raise equity funds.

The BSE and the commerce and industries department of Telangana, along with GlobalLinker, have signed a memorandum of understanding in this regard, the exchange said in a statement.

The partnership with the BSE would help in addressing a vital challenge of access to finance and increasing credibility of the MSMEs, it said.

As part of the association, the BSE will provide intellectual and manpower support to create awareness about the importance and benefits of listing.

The exchange said lack of awareness around this subject has led to a lot of pre-conceived notions that listing involves increased compliance levels, increased costs and more.

"We are pleased to partner with the BSE, as this engagement will provide the necessary hand-holding support and guidance to the MSMEs of the state," said Telangana Principal Secretary Jayesh Ranjan.

He added that currently, there are few MSMEs registered on the stock exchange from Telangana and we would like to see these numbers grow soon.

BSE MD and CEO Ashishkumar Chauhan said MSMEs play a vital role in the economic development of in Telangana. They are also one of the major contributors for employment.

According to him, one of the various challenges the MSMEs face is the limited access to alternative source of finance which increase their dependence on debt capital resulting in distorted capital structures and stifled cash flows.

"Through this association, MSMEs of the state can have access to equity financing opportunities to grow their business from expansion to acquisition," he added.

Ajaykumar Thakur, head (SME and start-ups) at BSE, said, "We are hopeful that this initiative will help in getting a lot of SMEs (small and medium enterprises) from the state listed on the BSE SME Platform, which will contribute to their growth and generate employment."

In 2019, the Telangana government partnered with GlobalLinker, an MSME-enablement business, and launched a digital networking platform called 'Telangana State GlobalLinker'.

The platform provides a digital profile, access to global networking opportunities to find buyers and suppliers, economies of scale on a wide range of business services, access to industry news, articles and discussions.