Google Unveils New Initiatives To Digitally Empower SMBs

“It is important that they have the right tools and skills to digitize. We believe it is important for us to invest in training and equipping these individuals and small businesses to accelerate their journey of growth,” Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer, of Google, said here.

Called ‘Digital Unlocked’, the training program would empower thousands of SMBs with essential skills to enable them to get online and start using the power of the internet to grow their businesses.

Pichai, who is scheduled to visit his alma mater IIT-Kharagpur on Thursday, also said the company was working on products for India that can be expanded globally.

Google also previewed ‘My Business Websites’, an easy-to-use offering to help businesses have a rich, mobile-optimized digital presence that will be launched later this year. “Any small business with internet access can sign up and get the training. They can create a simple website for free. All they need to do is have a smartphone and a few free minutes,” Pichai said, adding that “today, anyone can become an entrepreneur, a developer, or a creator, but it is important that they have the right tools and skills to digitise.”

‘Primer’ app

The company launched ‘Primer, a free mobile app designed to teach digital marketing skills in a “quick, easy, and interactive” way. It will be available for download through Google Play and the iOS App Store.

“Primer” will also work offline and is currently available in 10 languages, including English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi, Tamil and Urdu.

The announcement is a continuation of Google’s efforts to support Digital India. Last year, the company launched Google My Business, a program aimed at helping SMBs get an online presence on Google Search and Google Maps without having to invest in a website or domain.

According to a joint research study by Google and KPMG, an estimated 68 percent of the 51 million Indian SMBs are offline. It also states that rising internet penetration and greater uptake of digital by SMBs could help increase their contribution to India’s GDP by 10 percent, taking it up to 46–48 percent by 2020.

The profits of digitally engaged SMBs grow twice as fast (compared with their offline peers), and they are also able to grow their customer base significantly, the report said.

Google had launched several initiatives earlier targeted at small businesses. In the last year, eight million SMBs have come on board. One will have to wait and watch to see how the new initiatives add to Google’s objectives in this segment.

Meanwhile, speaking at the event, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Information Technology, said that even though Google was doing a great job towards Digital India, Google India needed to tailor its operations more to fit the Indian psyche, local languages, local aspirations, and local products, as the country’s digital economy would be $1 trillion-plus in the next three-four years.

“Google is as much Indian as it is American… the manner in which people of India have accepted you. Therefore, Google has as much an obligation for India as it has for the US and the world,” he said.

The minister also said the US technology giant should also look at areas, such as cyber security, where it could play a bigger role.