Industry Stalwarts Underline Critical Need to Wire Up SMEs

NEW DELHI, November 28 - — Wiring up an SME is not a choice, but only way forward

— A strong SME media is required to grow the domestic industry

— SMEs need pay-per-use models to embrace technology faster

The Indian SME can only grow if he gets wired. And that is possible if
his dependency on people is removed, according to Bharat Goenka, Chairman and
Managing Director of Tally Solutions. Goenka was among a list of eminent
speakers at "Envisioning the Wired SME" conference, organized by The Indus
Entrepreneurs (TiE) and IndiaMART.com, at the Sheraton, Saket, in New Delhi
on Saturday.

Speaking to the packed audience, Goenka, who was speaking about his
recipe for SMEs to grow the domestic business, stressed on the need to grow,
for which everyone needs time. And that's where technology and online
connectivity comes in handy. Reiterating that getting wired should be treated
as the means, and not as the end for any SME, Goenka exhorted Indian SMEs to
reduce unorganized processes and reduce errors.

The conference, a first of its kind that brought together thought leaders
from the banking, technology, marketing, trade organizations, successful
SMEs, credit rating agencies and government bodies, was hugely attended. The
first session, which was titled, "Growing the Domestic Industry", was chaired
by Mr. Pradeep Gupta, President TiE Delhi and Chairman and Managing Director
of Cybermedia Group and also included Mr. Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General,
Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME), Dr. Ajay Mathur, Director
General, Bureau of Energy Efficiency and Mr. Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO,
IndiaMART.com.

Attributing the slow growth in the SME sector to a sequential gap, Mr.
Dinesh Agarwal, Founder and CEO of IndiaMART.com said, "The decline and
gradual extinction of printed yellow pages has really affected an SME's route
to garner more business. Online yellow pages have not been able to take up
their print predecessor's space. That's because SMEs were not even
fundamentally wired with a phone, a PC, an internet connection and some basic
software." Asking the government and industry to make it simpler for SMEs to
get help, Agarwal said, "It is too little help and too difficult to get it.
Let the government be realistic about the amount of market development
assistance it offers to an ecosystem of more than 5 million SMEs. And to
match that, the IT industry should find a way to make a bundled offer of a
PC, an internet connection and the basic software available to SMEs for as
little as Rs 500 per month. That can help bring the growth of the SME sector
to inflection point much faster."

Speaking as an observer of SMEs for the past 30 years, Mr. Anil Bhardwaj,
Secretary General, Federation of Small and Medium Enterprises (FISME) said,
"ICT is not a choice but the only way to progress and build better
businesses. Whether SMEs are wired or not, is not the question or the choice.
24×7x365 connectivity is the only way out. Success at an amazing speed can be
achieved once technology-driven processes can turn information into a
commodity and dismantles barriers. With most SMEs in the manufacturing
sector, ICT infrastructure is the need. "

The one-day event featured six sessions on diverse topics of relevance to
SMEs — ranging from technology, marketing and scaling up.

The event was attended by an enthusiastic audience comprising bankers,
representatives from industry associations, government bodies, CEOs of small
and medium enterprises (SMEs), senior representatives from software giants,
entrepreneurship development institutes and rating agencies.

The inaugural session was chaired by Mr. Pradeep Gupta, President of TiE
and CMD of CyberMedia Group, who threw light upon the problems faced by the
sector in understanding technology and adopting it in their work processes.
He also emphasized the role of social networking and connectivity in growing
businesses.

About IndiaMART.com

IndiaMART.com is India's largest online B2B marketplace connecting global
buyers with suppliers through business directories, online product catalogs,
buy-sell offers, industry specific marketplaces, printed media and trade
shows participation.

Founded in 1996, the company has a presence in over 100 cities pan-India.
With approximately 1000 employees, IndiaMART.com offers an extensive range of
value-added products and services to over 500,000 members and over 5 million
global buyers across industries and verticals.

IndiaMART.com has won numerous awards over the years including Red
Herring 100 Asia & Emerging India and the company has been widely covered by
media such as CNBC, BBC, BusinessMoney, CNN, Businessworld, Economic Times,
Financial Express, etc. Its existing investors include Intel Capital and
Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (Times Group), India's largest print media group.

For more information, please visit: www.indiamart.com/press-section/

Arun Tyagi, Marketing and PR, Mobile, +91-9711003832, Telephone, +91-120-3911000, Fax, +91-120-2424943, pr at indiamart.com