India bets on e-commerce for growth in a post-pandemic era

New Delhi (India), April 15: The E-commerce industry is changing the way business is done in India. It is growing at an exponential rate and is expected to grow to US$ 350 billion from US$ 46.2 billion in 2020. Moreover, the country allows a 100% FDI in B2B e-commerce which is fuelling the industry’s expansion plans.

This growth in the industry is often attributed to the increase in internet penetration in India. As smartphones and the internet became accessible to more and more people, the number of online shoppers increased. This led to the current state where the online shopper base in India is third only to US and China.

The industry held its own despite a global pandemic that affected almost every business out there. E-commerce players registered impressive sales growth, which fortified the industry’s growth capacity.

This rampant growth is fuelling direct and indirect jobs in the industry. E-commerce and direct selling are leading to an entrepreneurial mindset shift in the country. Direct selling has provided small business owners the option to sell their products and services directly to their consumers.

Connecting with the progressive vision of the industry, domain players like Soumo Rudra has been direct selling for eight years. He says around 15-20% of his global network of over 2000 distributors have quit their job to become full-timers. Rather than being job seekers, youngsters are now looking to become job creators.

The increase in entrepreneurs in a developing country like India is vital. As Nandan Nilekani says in his book ‘Imagining India’ about his vision for the country in 2050- ‘The country will need more entrepreneurs.’ For this, we need to encourage more and more young people to do something on their own.

People like Soumo Rudra are a key factor in this. After working for over a decade as a professional in the IT industry, he set on his entrepreneurial journey. He and his team are now sharing their experiences with budding entrepreneurs helping them achieve financial freedom and creating jobs for others in the process. Speaking from his experience, Soumo Rudra says, “The e-commerce industry has the potential to fulfill the aspirations of the new generation of entrepreneurs.”

Soumo and his team are now looking to expand their operations to several parts of the world, including the US, the UK, and Dubai. Their prime focus is to target the rural areas, for they believe this is where they can bring about real change. This kind of change would eventually lead to the country’s development and harbor the foundation for a better society.

The promising growth of the e-commerce industry can fuel the entrepreneurial aspirations of the youngsters in the country. It is high time we channelize this to generate employment and revenue.