E-commerce firm Meesho aims to digitise 10 mn small businesses by 2027

The company said this would unlock new opportunities for small, medium, and local enterprises with an annual turnover below 40 lakhs, to embrace digital commerce

E-commerce firm Meesho has announced its aim to onboard 10 million small businesses by 2027, assisting them in finding success online. This goal signifies a ten-fold increase from the SoftBank-backed firm's current seller base of 1.3 million. The company stated that this expansion would unlock fresh opportunities for small, medium, and local enterprises with an annual turnover below Rs 40 lakhs, enabling them to engage with digital commerce. This initiative falls in line with the decision made by the Government of India to ease the compulsory Goods and Services Tax (GST) requirement for online sales for businesses generating an annual turnover of less than Rs 40 lakhs.

"Guided by technological advancement, innovation, and inclusivity, we are poised to unlock secondary income avenues for offline sellers," said Vidit Aatrey, CEO and Founder of Meesho.

In comparison, rival company Amazon India has already digitised more than 6.2 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the country. This has enabled close to $8 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports and created over 1.3 million direct and indirect jobs in India. Previously, Amazon had pledged to digitise 10 million MSMEs, facilitate $20 billion in cumulative e-commerce exports, and generate 2 million jobs in India by 2025. The company has stated that it is making good progress towards fulfilling these commitments.