In his opening speech at the MSME Growth Conclave held on June 27, K. Ganesh, a serial entrepreneur and partner at GrowthStory, as well as the promoter and founder of companies like Big Basket, Portea Medical, Bluestone and Home Lane discussed how we live in a VUCA (volatility, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) world, which presents both opportunities and significant challenges for businesses.

The opportunities include the introduction of digital public infrastructure (DPI) like UPI (United Payment Interface) and ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) which has disrupted and reorganised the market giving smaller businesses a level-playing field for doing business.

Additionally, starting a business has been easier now than ever. ONDC democratised opportunities, providing businesses with ease of entry, and ease in participating in the market financing and payments have also become easier with the introduction of UPI.

Challenges

The challenges include the creation of a highly competitive market where players are not just competing against their contemporaries, but also with large players. For instance, Ola and Uber compete against each other, as well as with car manufacturers. Similarly, MakeMyTrip competes with traditional travel agents.

Another challenge is, that consumer expectations are changing, pushing companies to develop innovative and convenient solutions. Companies like Zomato and Big Basket are prime examples of businesses addressing real-life problems through innovation. 

Ganesh highlighted how India is at a juncture where it can become a leader in manufacturing with size and scale, added with the required technology. He said MSMEs are expected to lead this transformation by becoming more agile and open to market changes and ride on the bandwagon by coming up with innovative solutions and businesses.