Pune (Maharashtra) [India],November 25: The ET Make in India SME Regional Summit in Pune had a stellar start with a range of industry representatives, SME associations and small businesses who were a part of the event. These summits aim to unravel opportunities, tackle challenges and foster knowledge-sharing and networking to propel the next phase of growth for Indian MSMEs.
The event started with a fireside chat that saw Rakesh Singh, Managing Director & CEO – Aditya Birla Finance Limited (ABFL) speak on the credit gap in the MSME segment being huge. “Access to credit in this segment is around 50%,” he said. The sector will be well served once it comes within the formal ambit of the economy.” Talking about how a lending approach of one size fits all isn’t able to cater to the varied needs of MSMEs, Singh stated that the needs of small business owners are very retail and consumer-like, because these are micro in nature, so it is important to deal with them like a consumer. On how Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. is scaling to match the growth rate of the MSME ecosystem, Mr. Singh mentioned, “In the last 2 years, our branch presence has grown from 159 to about 412. As per data from sectoral deployment of bank credit by RBI, credit exposure to MSMEs has grown at a CAGR of about 14% over last 2 years and Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. has outpaced this.”
A detailed presentation by Rishi Agrawal, CEO, TeamLease Regtech on India’s regulatory cholesterol presented some shocking revelations. “India’s 69,233 compliances have 26,134 items that have jail terms and many of them may put entrepreneurs in jail for ten years,” he said. Post his insights, industry leaders and association heads came together for an engaging panel discussion on ‘Scaling MSMEs in Pune: Unlocking Growth Through Services and Manufacturing Synergy.’ The panel delved on how MSMEs need to be self-sufficient, embrace sustainability and look at innovation more keenly to chart their next wave of growth. The expert panelists were Rujuta Jagtap, Member, EC, Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (MCCIA); ED, Saj Test Plant; Ravindra Sonwane, All India Vice President, Laghu Udyog Bharati; Hari P Srivastava, Founder Director & Vice Chairman, Deccan Chamber of Commerce Industries & Agriculture (DCCIA); Ramesh Prasad, Founder & MD, Econovus Packaging.
To build and scale access to finance is just one of the requirements. Keeping that as the primary genesis, Aditya Birla Finance Ltd. has curated Udyog Plus, a digital platform to empower SME owners. A detailed presentation on this platform, showcased how MSMEs can utilize the various products and services on this one-stop digital shop, to grow and scale their operations. With these insightful sessions, the SME summit in Pune served as a key platform that offered networking opportunities to a range of small businesses and industry stalwarts showing what can be possible if the industry can collaborate effectively for win-wins in this journey.
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