Lessons From Recession Will Help SMEs' Future Roadmap

Learning Lessons From Recession Important for Future Upswing.

NEW DELHI, November 30 - The issue of raising a robust tech-aligned SME in India came in for
intensive discussion at the "Envisioning the Wired SME" conference, organized
by The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE) and IndiaMART.com, at the Sheraton, Saket,
in New Delhi on Saturday.

Discussing the issue of propelling the growth of SMEs in a focused
session, Mr. Rakesh Rewari, Deputy Managing Director, SIDBI, who also chaired
the session, noted, "Despite the recession, the Indian SME has been able to
produce winners in the midst of a global slowdown, because they largely do
not have any capital expenditure or big buck spends." Exhorting SMEs to learn
from their showing in the past two years and prepare for the post-recession
upswing, Rewari said, "Product diversification and tapping the overseas
market will always allow an SME to sustain its value and grow faster."
Panelists for the session included Praful Jain, Head, Enterprise Practice,
Markets, KPMG, R. Ganesh, Deputy General Manager, ICICI Bank and Parag Patki,
CEO, SME Rating Agency of India.

Addressing the importance of growth, at a time many SMEs have managed to
make a standing for themselves in the market, Praful Jain, Head, Enterprise
Practice, Markets, KPMG, emphasized on the criticality of courage and
conviction and a dire need to innovate, which would go a long way in
overcoming resource crunch, something that plagues almost every SME. "With a
problem-solving approach, if SMEs can use their existing resources
judiciously, there is a conscious effort required to convert growth by
default into growth by design. That will become a pillar for its growth."

Addressing the need gap of SMEs' needing small funding, R. Ganesh, Deputy
General Manager of ICICI Bank, underlined the bank's commitment to SMEs,
which gets addressed by a separate dedicated SME unit, which addresses the
needs of SMEs, which are not big enough to attract the attention of venture
capital funds or angel investors. Asking SMEs to become more transparent and
accountable for better credit support, Ganesh said, "There are limitations.
Banks are extremely conscious about an SME's transaction history, and that is
where most SMEs cannot sail through."

Parag Palki, CEO, SME Rating Agency of India, outlined the gradually
increasing significance of a credit rating regime, which helps SMEs liaise
with banks and funding agencies, by proving their credentials. "The mission
is to act as a bridge between SMEs and lending institutions. A good rating
will automatically aid and support an SME's growth story."

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/

    Media Contact:

    IndiaMART.com
    Arun Tyagi
    Marketing and PR
    M : +91-9711003832
    T : +91-120-3911000
    F : +91-120-2424943
    E : pr@indiamart.com

Media Contact: IndiaMART.com, Arun Tyagi, Marketing and PR, M : +91-9711003832, T : +91-120-3911000, F : +91-120-2424943, E : pr at indiamart.com