In the years before 1991, the policies of the Indian government were inward-looking. Business success and entrepreneurship depended on understanding the bureaucratic system and having connections. As the government worked towards attaining self-reliance, they deterred foreign investment. The capital shortage and lack of growth that followed forced the government to liberalize the economy. Post-1991, Indian entrepreneurs began to flourish under newfound economic freedom.
All around India, becoming an Indian businessman or businesswoman is an idea romanticized by many. A large proportion of employees now own small businesses in India. If what the Ministry of Medium, Small, and Micro Enterprises states is true, there are 6.33 crore MSMEs in India. As the Indian state churns these large numbers of entrepreneurs, soon, the economy will depend heavily on their success.
For the fact that, sometime in the future, the success of entrepreneurship can become the backbone of the Indian economy, Indian entrepreneurs must attain requisite business training and upskilling. They should be granted easy access to online courses that teach business operations, digital marketing, working capital management, cost-cutting techniques, and strategy building.
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Here are some other reasons Indian entrepreneurs need to acquire relevant business skills:
Establishment of sustainable businesses
A report on entrepreneurship in 2016/2017 published by the Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India stated that almost 11% of the Indian adult population engages in “total early-stage entrepreneurial activity” (TEA). The proportion of this number that ended up owning businesses was only 5%. Many drop out halfway through the entrepreneurial journey. Those who managed to create something saw their ventures fail within five years.
This phenomenon highlights the importance of effective business training and skilling for Indian entrepreneurs. As many business owners acquired their skills on the job, providing formal training will help Indian entrepreneurs avoid pitfalls that affect the productivity of business so they can build sustainable businesses.
Expansion and growth
Many small businesses in India begin with three or four workers. These workers handle all of the business operations – procurement, manufacturing, marketing, sales, management, etc. In most cases, these workers are even family members. Having to handle every aspect of the business, Indian entrepreneurs can’t conceive strategies that will expand and grow their business.
Indian entrepreneurs need to be trained on the delegation of duties, so they can focus on management. That way, they can build strategies that will increase their customer base and expand into new markets that will make them scale up.
Leverage digital marketing
Millions of people are connected via the internet, yet many small businesses in India fail to use this to their advantage. However, the pandemic has brought a paradigm shift in this regard as many entrepreneurs now rely heavily on sales and digital marketing for survival. This is a good development as the digitization of small and medium businesses can increase India’s GDP by between $158 to $216 billion, according to a CISCO India study.
Many Indian entrepreneurs, despite this shift towards digitization, still struggle with using digital skills to enhance their businesses. As such, they need to acquire effective business training that will expand their digital initiatives and help them leverage new technology to expand their businesses.
References:
- Why Indian entrepreneurs need business training and upskilling | Dr. Vivek Bindra | November 23, 2020
- Indian Entrepreneurship and the challenges to India’s Growth | Vishal Jain | October 2011
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