Tech start-ups enabling the small businesses to boost the SME sector
Small and medium enterprises, or SMEs, may be gunning for the global markets. The reality of getting their systems in place before making this quantum leap is posing its own set of challenges. SMEs in India contribute more than 40 per cent of the country’s total exports, 1.3 million jobs every year. Almost every SME, across all industry verticals, depends on logistics, technology, payments, etc for business establishment and growth. And today, when the wheels of technological evolution are churning continually, the 50 million SMB market in India is in focus of start-ups.
Here are Indian tech startups that are helping the micro-business and boosting the SME sector.
1. Shiprocket
Shiprocket is a logistics tech aggregation platform which automates logistics solution for small businesses in the e-commerce sector. With the help of new age technology such as data analytics and AI, the start-up helps in recommending the best shipping medium and partner to the sellers. The platform integrates with several leading and specialized logistics partners such as Delhivery, Xpressbees, FedEx, Blue Dart, etc to provide seamless logistics services. It has the largest network reach in India with 26,000 pin codes available for pickups, deliveries and COD. Shiprocket’s CORE (courier recommendation engine) is the first of its kind and optimizes courier selection on more than 10 variables including shipment weight, pickup and delivery performance, RTO performance, mode and cost and is able to automatically select the most appropriate courier partner and mode for each seller’s shipment that’s processed on the platform.
2. LendingKart
LendingKart Technologies Private Limited is a fin-tech startup in the working capital space. The Company aims to transform small business lending by making it convenient for SMEs to access credit easily. The Company uses technology and analytics tools, analyzing thousands of data points from various data sources to assess the creditworthiness of small businesses rapidly and accurately. The Company has developed technology tools based on big data analysis which facilitates lenders to evaluate borrower’s credit worthiness and provides other related services.
3. Khata Book
Khata Book (Ledger Account Book) to replace your traditional bahi khata by new digital ledger cash book. It is 100 per cent Free, Safe and Secure for all types of businesses to maintain their customers' accounts. Traditional bahi khatas require users to spend hours tallying and recording transactions physically. Khatabook automatically takes care of all your accounting needs, giving you time to do what you love most. With Payment Reminders feature, an automatic SMS is sent to your customer’s every time a transaction is recorded against them. This feature has seen our users being repaid rapidly and bring transparency to their business.
4. Meesho
Meesho enables small businesses and individuals to start their online stores via social channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram etc. Meesho is an Indian-origin social commerce platform founded by IIT Delhi graduates Vidit Aatrey and Sanjeev Barnwal in December 2015. It enables small businesses and individuals to start their online stores via social channels such as WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram etc. Meesho is headquartered in Bengaluru, India and was one of the three Indian companies to be selected for Y Combinator in 2016. It was also a part of the first batch of Google Launchpad - Solve for India program.
5. Shopmatic
Shopmatic provides a platform for any merchant who wants to take their business online. Right from helping them develop their own website to listing them on marketplaces and social channels and providing them with insights on how to sell online. At Shopmatic, we believe in removing the complexities of setting up an e-commerce business. We leverage technology to bring together all the pieces of the e-commerce ecosystem on a single platform.
