55% of MSMEs use mobile hotspots to connect to the internet for day-to-day business operations: PayNearby Study
May 12, 2023: The MSME sector in India is on an ambitious growth curve and in recent years, there has been a progressive change in the mindsets of small business owners towards technology adoption. In an interesting insight, PayNearby, India’s leading branchless banking and digital network, today said that more than 71% Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in retail, use some form of digital technology for their day-to-day business operations. The report further highlighted that more than 80% of MSMEs admitted that the adoption of digital technology has had a positive impact on their businesses and personal lives.
The insight was shared as part of a detailed survey titled - MSME Digital Index 2023 - a Pan-India report showcasing technology consumption by MSMEs at the last mile, released by PayNearby today. In its first edition, the report was prepared basis a nationwide survey conducted by the company among 5,000+ MSMEs in the retail space (kirana stores, mobile recharge stores, medical stores, customer service point (CSPs), travel agents, among others), recording their tech awareness and tech consumption patterns in their professional and personal lives.
According to the survey, the small business owners within the age group of 18-30 years were the most digitally adept, with over 75% of this age bracket owning a smartphone to run their day-to-day business operations and accessing digital content through it. It was immediately followed by the age group 31-40 years. Notably, 32% of them citied that their monthly income is more than ₹15,000. The uptake of smartphones underlines the critical role played by the internet in helping bridge the infrastructure gap and drive tech inclusion at the last mile by onboarding MSMEs on the digital bandwagon.
Among all digital devices, smartphones were cited as the most popular category, with 68% of the users claiming them as their most preferred choice. 66% MSMEs claimed to use smartphones for business activities consuming 2GB -5GB of the internet in a day. More than 52% of these small businesses spend less than ₹500 per month on internet consumption. Thanks to the Digital India mission and the BharatNet initiative of the Government, internet penetration in Bharat has accelerated. It is now accessible to citizens at affordable prices, thus helping bridge the digital divide. In terms of connecting to the internet, approximately 55% cited that they used mobile hotspots to connect to the internet at work. This was followed by Wi-Fi routers at 30%. The use cases of ethernet cable and dongle were a mere 10% and 5%, respectively. 73% used mobile internet to connect to the internet at their homes.
Commenting on the report findings, Anand Kumar Bajaj, Founder, MD & CEO, PayNearby, said, “The findings in the report are inspiring and emphasize the fact that Bharat is gearing to walk hand-in-hand with India. The digital gap in the country is gradually getting bridged. Riding on the back of the smartphones, internet and fintechs, MSMEs at the last mile are increasingly embracing tech. However, this is just the start. We need to create a strong eco-system where not only access to technology is made cheaper and easier, but also provide an infrastructure where people can be skilled and their tech inhibitions and apprehensions suitably addressed. For this, technology has to be form factor agnostic, easy-to-use, easy-to-manage and easy-to-scale.
At PayNearby, we focus on providing new-age technology solutions—such as providing data insights, artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and machine learning (ML) – to help MSMEs in Bharat harness the full potential of tech deployment in their operations. Our innovative, tech-led Distribution-as-a-Service (DaaS) platform has encouraged small businesses to explore novel revenue streams, which has, in turn, fueled significant growth in the MSME sector. This digital transition will usher in a new era of commerce and create millions of livelihood opportunities in the hinterlands and small towns, thereby driving economic growth and social upliftment in the real Bharat.”
Commenting on the MSME Digital Index, Jayatri Dasgupta, CMO, PayNearby, said, “India is at the cusp of a tech revolution. However, for this to happen, MSMEs need the necessary tools to get inducted into this fast-moving economy. The MSME Digital Index is our effort to understand the uptake of technology in the MSME segment and highlight areas that need to evolve to bridge the digital divide in our industry.”
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