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Indian MSMEs contribute about 30 percent to the country’s GDP and 40 percent to exports. However, the sector has been hit hard by the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns.

In a bid to uplift and revitalise the sector, the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors has approved a $500 million programme, named Raising and Accelerating Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Performance (RAMP), aimed at improving the performance of 555,000 MSMEs. It is also expected to mobilise financing worth $15.5 billion.

“The RAMP programme will intensify efforts to support firms to return to pre-crisis production and employment levels while laying the foundations for longer-term productivity-driven growth and generation of much-needed jobs in the MSME sector,” said Junaid Ahmad, World Bank Country Director in India.

Last July, the World Bank had approved $750 million under the MSME Emergency Response Programme.

The government has also supported the MSMEs with several initiatives since the start of the pandemic. In the Union Budget 2021, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had allocated the sector Rs 15,700 crore — more than double the previous year.

The Interview

Stack Overflow, which was recently acquired by tech investor Prosus for $1.8 billion, was started with the idea to democratise access to information on technology — from software programming language to cloud technology.

CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar talks about his journey of building a global product for technologists, how the company is unlocking the potential of developers, and its expansion plans.

Editor’s Pick: Product Roadmap

With increased digitisation, more people in India are relying on digital transactions. This has led many organisations to grapple with increasing transaction volumes and complex payment flows and systems.

Started by Saurya Prakash Singh and Prashant Borde, Recko helps customers across industries like banks, ecommerce, foodtech, fintech, neo-banks, gaming, insurance providers, etc, which have a high volume of transactions, by automating their reconciliation process. Read more.

Startup Spotlight

Enabling aspiring students to study abroad 

Many Indian students who go abroad for higher studies have to pay higher interest rates on their education loans and have to be dependent on multiple sources for getting information.

To address these challenges, friends and IIT-Kharagpur alumni Vaibhav Singh and Arnav Kumar launched Leap Finance in 2019. The startup helps Indian students who aspire to study abroad with credible guidance and low-interest rate collateral-free loans. Read more.

News & Updates

Before you go, stay inspired— with… 

“This [MSME] portfolio is associated with the most important issue — the country’s growth rate and employment potential.”

— Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

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