By Tamal Sarkar
Technology for MSMEs: Covid got here with its negatives and disturbed regular functioning. However, it opened up newer alternatives too. An space of prime significance right here is the adoption of digitization. For MSMEs, digitization has largely opened up alternatives in two types – monetary transaction and market entry. While common bodily markets dried up and are exhibiting extraordinarily gradual restoration, the markets – each subsequent door in addition to the far-off ones, have opened up digitally.
Access to the digital market is a perform of digital preparedness. There are a number of struggles that create a digital divide right here. First and foremost is the language barrier. English just isn’t the language of the lots. There is a necessity for real-time conversion of data from English to regional languages. This has been addressed via scan coding within the cost gateways however is a giant hindrance to market entry for 55 million personal account (broadly family) enterprises (OAEs).
Another main concern in market promotion is product and temper images. The value and capability of doing such images at desired common intervals are prohibitive and within the absence of such inexpensive companies, regardless of an obvious low entry barrier to enter the digital market, in actuality, it prohibits the entry of the OAEs and broadens the digital divide. An answer can are available three steps – offering acceptable infrastructure, enabling last-mile service provision and capability constructing of customers.
Firstly, primary instruments of images and videography like studio set-up, mild, digital camera, utilization of companies of fashions and props, and many others. are an costly proposition. Without such high quality infrastructure, pictures of desired high quality and mood-setting usually are not potential. Simultaneously, there will likely be a necessity for digital infrastructure within the type of tablets and smartphones on the consumer stage. Secondly, even when such objects are made obtainable, there’s a want for educated personnel to place these to make use of. Also, such pictures should be upgraded over a time period, say a minimum of twice a 12 months, which is an costly proposition. Thirdly there will likely be a necessity for capability creation on the OAE stage to make the most of the brand new age advertising instruments and accordingly, there will likely be a necessity for coaching in how one can register, how one can use, and many others. and that too in native vernacular.
Subscribe to Financial Express SME publication now: Your weekly dose of stories, views, and updates from the world of micro, small, and medium enterprises
The technique for offering this service will likely be in three steps. Firstly a starting must be made. One can begin the method with the artisanal (handicraft and handloom) clusters, that are largely all OAEs. The common cluster dimension is 300 to 500 artisans and there are 3500 of them (clusterobservatory.in). Although the artisan quantity is excessive, the merchandise of the artisans usually are not very dissimilar. Because of varied interventions within the clusters prior to now as additionally the continuing ones, as on date, there should be round 10,000 such artisan organizations positioned throughout 700 odd districts. Besides, there could also be an estimated 100,000 grasp artisans in these clusters, who would additionally wish to create their very own portfolios. These artisan clusters could be the place to begin.
How many such centres and the place is the second concern. The technique could be making a Digital Shashakti Kendra (DSK), a minimum of one, in every district. It could be housed on the District Industry Centre (DIC), which has an excellent understanding of the challenges of a cluster in its District. Each DIC via a public-private partnership (PPP) mode can open a DSK in an gear and repair fee-sharing mannequin with a non-public companion. A DSK at a sponsored charge can present the next companies: (a) smartphone/pill library (hiring service) and (b) images and videography of merchandise and processes. Thirdly, the specified consumer coaching and requisite coaching materials could be offered in native vernacular to OAEs by creating district-level trainers.
Not the least, in a rustic the place the dialect adjustments each 50 kilometres and has such a large range of languages, we have to create software program which might translate meaningfully communications in English into the specified languages in real-time. We additionally might want to present bandwidth infrastructure to the remotest corners of the nation.
Tamal Sarkar is Senior Adviser at Foundation for MSME Clusters. Views expressed are private.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”