Startups and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have always played a vital role in the Indian and African economy. Not only do the 6.3 crore MSMEs in India contribute one-third to the GDP of the country, but they also provide employment to a large segment of the population, particularly the non-formal sector.

In Africa, SMEs provide an estimated 80 percent of jobs across the continent, representing an important driver of economic growth. Sub-Saharan Africa alone has 44 million micro, small, and medium enterprises, almost all of which are micro. For these businesses to grow, create more jobs, and generate economic growth, they need access to capital. Fifty-one percent of these vital businesses, however, require more funding than they can currently access.

Also, in a country like India, which is more a services hub than a manufacturing one, Startups and MSMEs have always ensured some competitive intensity between domestic products and imported ones. With the current emphasis on Atmanirbhar, these Startups and MSMEs have become even more significant to our economic and financial strategy.

As small businesses downed shutters during the pandemic phase across the globe, sales plummeted to zero, even when costs did not, hitting the sector particularly hard. Most Startups and MSMEs in India and Africa typically rely on Govt. Grants, NBFCs and MFIs for their financing needs, given the lack of access to the banking sector. With the NBFC sector enduring a liquidity crunch since September 2018, MSMEs were hard-pressed for money as it is. The pandemic further compounded their problems. While a black swan event like Covid could not have been predicted in advance, it does bring into question, what could have been done to prevent such a situation in the first place.

THE CREDIT CONUNDRUM

A concerning gap in India has been the credit supply shortage to MSMEs. The formal credit available to this sector is ₹16 trillion. The viable credit gap is ₹20 trillion against a total demand of ₹36 trillion!

The main reason for this gap is the lack of formalisation amongst MSMEs. Even today, out of the 6.3 crore MSMEs only about 1.1 crore are registered with GST regime. The number of income tax filers are even less. As a result, Indian MSMEs’ credit requirement has been largely unmet due to limited availability and access to data and legacy underwriting methods.

Similar situation prevailing in most of the African countries as well.

THE SILVER LINING

There are two critical forces that will together give rise to niches, new models and propel the credit growth in the MSME sector:

FORMALISATION — Registration, documentation and certification of entities have been increasing rapidly. From just 22 lakh registered MSMEs in 2015, India has now at 88 lakh, a trend which is accelerating with enabling government procedures and the focus on Ease of Doing Business

DATA DEMOCRATISATION — The increasing formalisation as well the as the rapid uptake of the India Payments stack has ensured that we have access to a variety of non-conventional, alternate sources of data for underwriting. New underwriting models, based on such alternate data points are being tested and improved upon every day, providing the opportunity to bring an even larger fold of MSMEs into the formal credit bracket.

Secondly, labour laws, as they stand today, are not very conducive to MSME growth. They must strike the right balance between providing a growth-oriented framework for MSMEs to run in and providing sufficient protection for the rights of workers.

Lastly, while Ease of Doing Business has been a focus area, the reporting, approval and compliance requirements for small businesses continue to border on the higher side.

Here we work towards using the new data and information highway to better understand MSMEs, We are an independent body which can advise and provide consultancy to Startups and MSMEs and enable them to win in this new, digital world putting pandemic aside.

Startups and MSMEs are the backbone of a resilient national and international economy. Prioritising their development is critical to the future of any country. All most all the government has come out with a variety of enabling mechanisms over the last few years.

We need more such measures, especially in the current environment. The next decade will be the metamorphosis of India and Africa from an emerging power to an established economic powerhouse and Startups and MSMEs will be an important cog in the wheel on this journey.

The most important thing is that everybody is talking and helping about medical emergency and related problems in this time of the current epidemic, but there is no talk about the damage already suffered by businesses and further damage predicated in the coming recession. We are working for this purpose and strive to advance businesses and employment.

So here we are coming with the program –

FoE Launchpad - Startup-Investor Meet - A Growth Drive for Entrepreneurs.

During this drive we closely work with you for your enterprise, help you in every possible way to drive you towards the growth and try to develop and grow your enterprise / organization for fund and other resources.

• Federation of Entrepreneurs (FoE) is the trendy and creative multipurpose consulting organisation with full pack of resource management services, operated by Experienced consultants. FoE provides independent analysis, advice and consultancy services in relation to different fields of management, businesses and industries.
• Adhering to the best industry practices, we strive to deliver works of high quality, reliability and scalability. We ensure that our solutions are of long-term value to our clients. We are a Multi-disciplinary Experienced team working together to provide state-of-the-art consultancy for the development and progress of business and Industry.

As Participants

• Startups
• MSMEs
• Individual Entrepreneurs
• Social Entrepreneurs

As Supporting partners

• Consultants
• Incubators
• Investors
• Funding Agencies
• Trainers

As Participants

• Any Startup / MSME / Individual Entrepreneur / Social Entrepreneur can join this program via filling their data in particular form on our website and providing more required details through email if required. Click here and provide your interest and data
• We will provide more detail after going through your details and presentation.
• There will be online and offline pitch-deck presentation by entrepreneur. Based on viablity of the project our expert team will select your project.
• As and when require we also enter into NDA and other agreements.

As Supporting partners

• one can join this program via filling their data in particular form on our website and providing more required details through email if required. Click here and provide your interest and data
• Providing more required details through email and enter into a proper agreement / MOU.
• Contact us for more details

• We will provide Revival Strategy for Your Business during and after Corona Pandemic and Recession.
• We will show you How to Revive Your Business to Solid Growth & Profitability during and after Corona Pandemic.
• We Will Show You the Way to ensure speedy Business Growth for your Startup / MSME.
• We Provide Restructure and Revival Services For Marketing, Management, Export Market, Production / Manufacturing process development, Service Development, Finance / Fundraising and other required as per your need.

• We discuss with you and your team for number of times as require
• We study your business and your problem statement
• We design strategy for your growth
• We Prepare Requirement analysis and Documentation
• We suggest different alternatives for your business process, funding needs, and marketing
• There will be online and offline pitch-deck presentation by entrepreneur. Based on viablity of the project our expert team will select your project.
• Solution Evolution and Validation.

Yes, as free has no value and no commitment.

After receiving your data through our interest form, we will contact you with more details for participation

Ahmedabad event will be held on 13 August 2023

Nairobi event will be held in 2nd half of October 2023. Dates will be announced soon.

We back you with more details soon