Facebook India on Monday said it is increasing its investments in small businesses in the country with the first of many Small Business Boost events. “There are 1.49 billion people on Facebook, which is half of the estimated three billion people who use the Internet worldwide, Head of Economic Growth Initiatives for Facebook India”, Ritesh Mehta said.
“That's a compelling audience for a small business who is looking to find new customers, deepen relationships with existing customers and boost sales. More than 1.5 million small businesses in India are already using Facebook Pages to take advantage of this community to grow their customer reach,” Mehta added. Helping to advance the Government's Digital India and Skills India vision, Facebook’s Small Business Boost program has been designed to arm Indian businesses with the knowledge, skills and technology required to stay innovative and connect with customers at home and abroad, a company statement said. In support of Facebook's Small Business Boost program, Telangana's IT Minister KT Rama Rao will co-host and kick-off the first event here, it further added. Rama Rao said there are more than 36 million SMEs in the country providing employment to 80 million people and form the backbone of the Indian economy.
“As people spend more time plugged into their smartphones and on the Internet, these small businesses have a unique opportunity to capture new audiences.”