Today’s MSMEs are tomorrow’s MNCs

Hyderabad: Today’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are tomorrow big business. The fact, no one denies. MSME stands for Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprises, but let’s change that acronym to Mighty, Strong and Maverick Enterprises

Reliance, Infosys, Nirma too started once upon a time very small and started with nothing.“If you look at Uber, five years ago they were nowhere, and now they are making a billion dollars.”

YouTube was started in a cubicle.  Google, Amazon, Hewlett-Packard ware started in a Garage. The Walt Disney Company started in the back of a small Los Angeles apartment. They are some of the most valuable brands in the world today.

For many entrepreneurs garage was affordable in their beginning. And it was at the childhood home of the company’s founders. Other times, the entrepreneurs had to rent a garage just to get a little privacy for their ideas to grow.

Nike, American Express, Samsung, Marlboro, Louis Vuitton, Cisco, Gillette, Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Disney, Nokia, McDonald, General Electric, Coca-Cola all these world’s top brands were started by ordinary people, but of course with extraordinary determination.  They all started with nothing.

If you think you need a corporate office to get your business started, think again. There are many examples of multibillion-dollar companies launched in the unlikeliest of places.

There are few successful businesses created by college students–Facebook, SnapChat, InviteMedia and much more.

Uber, Ola, Oyo and Airbnb and many which started from now where disrupted many established businesses and redefining old industries.  None of them own a single car or property, but today they are name to reckon.  And their disruptive practices are case studies to many.

A river too starts small like a stream.

 

For us in India, we have 5.1 crore MSMEs. They are already generating 8crore employment, contributing 9% of the GDP, 45% of total manufacturing output and 40% of the total exports from the country. They account for more than 80% of the total industrial enterprises in India creating more than 8000 value-added products.

 

With more than 50 percent of the employed population work for small businesses.

 

 

MSMEs may be small businesses, but they are solid businesses.  They are growth engines.  “They have no legacy problems, they don’t have a big infrastructure, they are starting small and can go big very quickly,” says Anil Reddy, Former President of FTAPCCI.

 

MSMEs are vehicles to employment and job creation. They are key to the region’s entrepreneurial environment needs, Anil Reddy adds.

 

MSMEs are the backbone of any Economy.  They are producing, designing, employing, and more importantly innovating. They are development entrepreneurs says Valmiki Hari Kishan, a Travel Entrepreneur.

 

They are an essential source of jobs, create entrepreneurial spirit and innovation, opines Kamini Saraf, Chairperson of FICCI Ladies Organization.

 

This means each of them has potential to grow into big businesses like some of them mentioned above.

 

So what is lagging? How can they grow big?

 

Today’s MSMEs are tomorrow’s MNCs. They lack exposure and have limited sources of access to best methodologies along with best practices. These methodologies and best practices are not available in a single window. Hence, MSMEs need to approach technical, marketing, finance, quality and project consultants for their organization’s growth. The co-ordination activity is a real challenging job for them in their day-to-day affair says Pravin Daryani, Chairman, and MD of IILD. Daryani is an SME business best practices expert.

We would like to focus on MSMEs, and Women Entrepreneurs announced, Srikanth Badiga, newly elected Chairman of Indo American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) while addressing the gathering at its 50th Foundation Day Celebrations in the city recently.

In the very same meeting responding to Srikanth’s announcement on focus on MSMEs, Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary, IT & ES, Government of Telangana suggested IACC help MSMEs/SMEs by facilitating them source right technology from the US in a similar way Singapore helps its SMEs rather than just extending subsidies. Outsourcing right technology and enable them to use it is the greater help than just extending subsidies, opined Jayesh Ranjan.

IILD has chalked out ambitious plans to take MSMEs business to their next level. That is why we have expanded to Hyderabad. Informs Pravin Daryani, the only of its kind MSME Coaching Company in India which has offices in 8 cities, 250 staff. We are the only entrepreneur development company in India that guarantees turnover growth. We have trained 16,500 individuals including 8500 entrepreneurs informed Pravin.

 

MSMEs suffer from poor payment recovery mechanism prevailing in the country. And Pravin Daryani wants government to come out with strict laws in this regard

 

Pravin Daryani adds that today entrepreneurs have challenges such as competition, Technology, Sales, improper finance management, an unorganised way of doing business and they are just one man army entities. They are mostly entrepreneurial driven. We help them solve this problem, Daryani informed. The training happens 12 times and implementation 36 times in two years, he added

MSMEs challenges are much fold.  They have difficulties in accessing finance, lack of information on infrastructure, low level of business R & D, knowledge of best technology and accessing it and insufficient use of information technology are the biggest impediments in the MSME sector informs Srikanth Badiga.  MSMEs need to be trained, guided, empowered with all sorts of skills, he adds.

Purnachandra Rao Surapaneni, newly elected as Regional President for South India Council of The Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) says SMEs need tools that advance their business ideas and vision. These include    Training, retraining, retooling, upgrading, or reinventing an MSME business is essential,   Sound business plan, good accounting practices and Network with institutions that can help conceptualize and transform skills to entrepreneurship.  Finance and access to credit are challenges. Look for low-cost loans, government-back programs, and supplement incomes. If this is one side, the leadership skills of the founder are critical, he said.

On government front, entrepreneurship—be it student entrepreneurship, momenterpreneurship, doctorpreneruship or any sort of entrepreneurship, innovative entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship by physically challenged such as Srikanth Bolla of Bollant Industries, a blind who rejected by IIT, got admission to MIT and is now proud owner of Rs 50crore entrepreneurship;  Mirakle Courier, an entrepreneurship of totally deaf, must be encouraged.  Successful Enterprises built by disabled people must be made known, which will serve as an inspiration to many.  The ecosystem must be developed.  Entrepreneurship must be taught from early childhood.

 

If given a chance and properly encouraged they can be another Facebook, Amazon, The Walt Disney, Reliance, Infosys, and Nirma. Indians have talent. Otherwise many Indians would have become CEO of many world-renowned MNCs like Pepsi, Microsoft, Google, and others.

It’s easy to look at the world’s largest companies and think, “I could never start something like that.” Instead, “I wish I would have started something,” I would have become on amongst such big companies.

Everybody many not knows everything. But, everybody will know something.

Whether it’s a garage, a basement, or dormitory rooms, every business has humble beginnings. It’s not about where you start. It’s where you end up.