Facebook doubles down on India's digital growth, helps SMBs

Facebook on Tuesday said that it is committed to help India quickly recover economically and socially in 2021 from the pandemic-hit year, by deepening support for small businesses and test and roll its new features from the country to the rest of the world.

The social networking platform said the 'Nayi Shuruaat' campaign launched during its 'Fuel for India' event is an ode to the resilience of small businesses amid crisis.

Facebook said it will continue to work closely with key partners to build a stronger ecosystem for small business growth in the country by investing in skilling programmes such as Boost with Facebook, entering in key partnerships such as with venture capital funds for the VC Brand Incubator program, and by giving people new ways to support small businesses such as the Instagram Food Stickers.

"India's building local capabilities and tech capacity to power innovative new business models and provide the citizens access to digital financial inclusion," said Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg via a virtual address during the event.

"So, decisions that are made here shape the global discussion about how technology can drive more economic opportunity and better outcomes for people," he added.

In order to support small businesses move online seamlessly, Facebook recently reached out to 9 million small businesses across India with a local SMB Guide available in both Hindi and English.

The largest communities for Facebook and WhatsApp are in India and Instagram is getting there.

"This makes India a key market to test and roll our new features from here. From the launch of Reels on Instagram, to Watch on Facebook and Payments on WhatsApp, India is playing a crucial role in the way products are being designed for the future," the company stressed.

There are 15 million WhatsApp Business app users in India.

The social network said it is partnering and investing in India's digital ecosystem as an opportunity to create long-term impact in areas that are relevant for the country.

"These include equity investments in Meesho -- focused on social commerce and women entrepreneurship and Unacademy -- focused on education," the company said.

"In collaboration with Jio Platforms, we want to further accelerate India's digital transformation and work to open up new opportunities for people and businesses around the country," it added.