Govt Need To Ease Licensing And Compliance Regulations To Reshape MSMEs: Sandip Chhettri

Amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic affecting the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, Sandip Chhettri, CEO of TradeIndia, an online B2B portal for small businesses, said the government needs to bring in learnings and a framework for SME digitalisation policy, easy access to credit, to reshape the sector. 

He said, "Governments have introduced measures to help mitigate the challenges faced by SMEs, focusing on financial relief. However, there is a lot to be done to overcome the challenges MSME has faced. Some of the initiatives which government can take: easing various licensing and compliance regulations, bring in learnings and a framework for SME digitalisation policy and a flexible and guided digital investment scheme."

As per official estimates, a total of 59 per cent of MSMEs are in rural areas, and they have also been affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic, especially the deadly second wave, He said, "Governments should also provide further direct financial support to enable digital investment, but allowing for flexibility for SMEs to choose the most appropriate technologies for themselves and pairing this with guidance to support them in making investment decisions, incentives to the financial system to lend to SMEs for digital investment."

He also said that training in sector-relevant digital skills, potentially through less-expensive online training courses that are used as conditions to unlock further aid, and/or paired with specialist support but focused on sectors with the greatest need.

To address gaps in SME takeup of digital solutions, Government must look at resources to create a one-stop-shop for both sector-specific, curated online resources and training in sector-relevant digital skills, providing SMEs in key, lagging sectors with the targeted resources to overcome availability and/or accessibility issues. This could also signpost SMEs to the various schemes set up to support digitalisation, he said. 

Talking about Indian MSMEs and the need for strategic collaboration, and alliances with foreign, he said, "Successful collaboration helps companies complement each other’s strengths and tap into markets and opportunities beyond their reach when working individually. It can also create an ecosystem of healthy competition."

One of the paths to success for a business, regardless of its size, is constant innovation. Developing new ideas is essential for any company to stay relevant, enhance its efficiency and processes, improve infrastructure, introduce new, improved, and more cost-effective products and services into the market, and increase profitability and establish a strong brand identity, he mentioned.