‘Backbone of Karnataka’s economy’– experts at ET Make in India SME summit in Bengaluru reimagine growth opportunities for MSMEs

Despite the infamous Bengaluru traffic, the city saw a full house on a Saturday morning at the ET SME Make in India Regional Summit. It reflected the garden city’s thriving entrepreneurial drive and industrial might with a host of industry representatives, startups, SMEs and government officials attending the event.
Karnataka is home to more than 8.5 lakh MSMEs, which provide employment to over 55 lakh people. A cost-effective talent pool, a vibrant tech hub and strong ecosystem of VC firms makes Bengaluru an attractive destination for businesses to start up and thrive in the city.

The summits are a series of on-ground events held across India to bring together local MSMEs, policymakers, enablers and industry veterans. These summits aim to unravel opportunities, tackle challenges and foster knowledge-sharing and networking to propel the next phase of growth for Indian MSMEs.


Aditya Birla Finance Limited was the Presenting Partner followed by Insurance Partner - New India Assurance, State Partner - Government of Karnataka, Ecosystem Partner - Invest Karnataka and Industry Partner - BCIC for the event in Bengaluru.

The Bengaluru session began with an address by S Selvakumar, IAS Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries Department, Government of Karnataka. Talking about how MSMEs are the backbone of Karnataka’s economy, Selvakumar said that new possibilities of growth and expansion must be explored.

This was followed by a fireside chat with Rakesh Singh, Managing Director & CEO, Aditya Birla Finance Limited, who spoke on empowering MSMEs and driving financial inclusion. “The upper and middle end of MSMEs have easy access to capital. The challenge lies more with the lower end, the microenterprises,” he stated.

Next up, association heads, entrepreneurs and industry leaders came together for an insightful panel discussion on 'Building MSMEs as the backbone for high-growth businesses’. Speaking on the widespread issue of skilled professionals in the industry, H R Jairam, BCIC, Chairperson, MSME Expert Committee said that this challenge ranks higher than the financial woes that plague the industry. He spoke of the significance of setting up of common facilities by industry associations for MSMEs. “This can offer huge breathing space for entrepreneurs to focus their energies on scaling up,” he stated.

Affirming his views, Jacob Crasta, Founder, CM Envirosystems highlighted that only 1% enterprises are medium, 4% small and 95% micro despite so many incentives and subsidies by the government. “The government has to trust the MSMEs and associations. The government should give powers and responsibilities to the local associations to oversee compliance and other matters,” he said.

Speaking about the strength and might of Karnataka, Prithvi Raj, Past president - KASSIA & PIA and Chairman, KASSIA Centre of Excellence and Innovation, mentioned that the state is also renowned as the machine tool capital of the country. “40% of India's machine tools come from Karnataka,” he said.

After the engaging panel industry veterans, Shirish Mathur, Head SME Products & Digital Platforms, Aditya Birla Finance Limited gave an in-depth demonstration of the Udyog Plus Tool and how it can be a major asset for MSME financing.

The next session of the day was on the essential role of business insurance for MSME resilience and growth. Sanjay Paigankar, Chief Manager, Techno Marketing Dept, Head Office, The New India Assurance Co. Ltd said that tight margins and insurance complexities are some of the reasons why insurance hasn't been adequately linked to MSMEs. “Insurers must come up with products simple to understand,” he suggested.

Paigankar also stated that insurance offers entrepreneurs peace of mind, which can help them to focus on other operational needs.

The concluding address of the day was by S Devrajan, Past President BCIC & Sr. Vice President, TVS Motors. Devrajan noted that while changes have taken place on the tech front for the sector, many things may become obsolete soon. “MSMEs are doing good, but the industry might have a threat and should be aware about it,” he said.

This concluded the SME summit in Bengaluru, serving as a valuable platform for the SME ecosystem to scale up in the times ahead. It also showed the way forward for the sector in areas pertaining to tech, financial innovation, and insurance to stay ahead of the curve.

For more details, visit: ETSMESummits