Changing customer preferences, digitisation and competition are pushing entrepreneurs to innovate on a dynamic basis, a report by CII-KPMG titled Entrepreneurship, growth, and opportunities – 2017 has said.
The report also mentions that in order to build scalable and sustainable businesses, entrepreneurs need to constantly enhance processes, adopt new technologies and ensure their workforce is adequately trained.
Though digital technology has opened up avenues for small business owners and entrepreneurs to reach out to customers, they face challenges when it comes to marketing, due to their restricted budget and limited resources. To address these complications, the report suggests that MSMEs invest in content, develop mobile strategies, and adopt an omni-channel approach spanning Internet of Things and artificial intelligence applications.
Meeting these objectives will provide a strong boost to India’s entrepreneurial sector which, in turn, will spur the country’s economic growth. According to the report, India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to grow from $2 trillion to $5 trillion by 2025, which will primarily be driven by the services segment (60%), followed by manufacturing and agriculture.
The report highlights that the initial growth phase of a venture is usually followed by a long period of stagnation, and this occurs due to the entrepreneur’s inability to stabilise operations. To address these issues, entrepreneurs need to manage growth and recruit the right talent.
This is particularly pertinent at the moment as the market has witnessed massive layoffs across startups. Last month, India’s third largest e-commerce firm Snapdeal had decided to lay off 500-600 employees across its main business and subsidiaries. Fashion e-tailer Yepme.com is also looking to reduce its headcount by 80-90% and has forced entire teams to resign.
The first signs of a funding slowdown in the Indian startup ecosystem were seen between August 2015 and December 2016, with over 10,000 people losing their jobs.
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