The pandemic has led to a surge in the share of online sales for micro, small and medium enterprises integrated with e-commerce platforms, thereby boosting their revenues and spurring hiring, according to a report.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

See Zee Business Live TV Streaming Below:

The survey-based report by ICRIER, a leading economic think tank, found that digitalisation was a key coping mechanism for MSMEs to overcome mobility restrictions during the pandemic.

"The report suggests that MSMEs are increasingly embracing digital technologies, with online sales accounting for 27 per cent of the total sales of surveyed MSMEs in 2020-21, up sharply from 19 per cent in 2019-20 and 12 per cent in 2018-19," a release stated.

MSMEs that have adopted e-commerce platforms have experienced an increase in sales, turnover, and profits. This has also led to increased hiring.

However, while e-commerce has been associated with improved employment opportunities for MSMEs, share of women participation in the workforce in the surveyed firms remained significantly low, the release said.

The report titled 'MSMEs Go Digital - Leveraging Technology to Sustain during the Covid-19 Crisis' supported by a grant from Walmart, is the first to examine the effect of digitalisation on MSMEs integrated with e-commerce platforms, during the pandemic.

This report presents a synthesis of the findings from a survey of 1,537 MSME manufacturing units across 10 states. It captures the impact of e-commerce on the volume of business, supply chain linkages and employment of MSMEs integrated with e-commerce platforms.

The six sectors covered in the survey include sports goods, toys, furniture, handicraft, textile, and processed & preserved food.