Gujarat IT SMEs to explore global opportunities

It is estimated that electronics goods exports to West Asian countries in 2012-13 totalled $1.667 bn, while exports of software and related services were $1.852 bn

After a successful first-ever international delegation to Dubai, Gujarat-based small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the IT sector are now planning similar business delegations to European and South East Asian countries.

In what was the first international trade mission for Gujarat's IT SMEs, the Gujarat Electronics and Software Industries Association (GESIA) took a group of the state's electronics and ICT businesses on a trade mission to visit GITEX-Dubai, which held from October 20 to 24.

"We had a successful trade mission to Dubai. This was the first such business delegation for Gujarat-based SMEs, where we saw a trade of over $5 million and expect to garner more in the near future. This has encouraged us to plan more such delegations in the near future," said Pankaj Shah, president of GESIA.

Furthermore, unlike the 14-15 SMEs that comprised the previous delegation, GESIA is planning to take more member-firms as part of future delegations.

"We are exploring opportunities in the European and South East Asian countries. For instance, one of the largest global IT exhibitions is coming up in Germany, where we intend to participate for the first time," said Shah.

According to Shah, in a bid to strengthen business ties and boost Gujarat's exports, a separate committee for international branding has also been created to promote the electronics and IT sectors in the world market.

Led by Paresh Shah, chairman, international branding, GESIA, the delegation is planning to conduct many activities to boost exports from the region - such as trade delegations to participate in international exhibitions, B2B meetings in overseas markets, and workshops and seminars on how to export.

The recent mission was led by Shah and was supported by the ministry of micro, small and medium enterprises under the international cooperation scheme. It was the first time that GESIA took an official trade mission of Gujarat's IT sector to any international market, with 14-15 small and medium-sized companies taking part.

India's exports of electronics goods, software and related services to West Asia totalled $3.519 billion (Dh13 billion) in 2012-13. It is estimated that electronics goods exports to West Asian countries in 2012-13 totalled $1.667 billion, while exports of software and related services were $1.852 billion.

"In Dubai delegates networked with government and business officials, gained useful knowledge of the market and engaged with potential commercial partners. We also planned business-to-business meetings in the GITEX with support of the organisers," Shah said.