World MSME Day 2023: Meta partners with CAIT to upskill 1 million traders on WhatsApp Business app

Technology for MSMEs: Facebook’s parent company Meta on Monday announced a partnership with the traders’ body Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) to upskill 1 million traders on the WhatsApp Business App over the next three years. Commemorating the World MSME Day on June 27, Meta also announced the launch of its Meta Small Business Academy (MSBA), born out of its commitment in 2021 to upskill 10 million small businesses, especially for new entrepreneurs and marketers to gain digital marketing skills to grow on the Meta apps. The course module and the examination are available in seven languages – English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu to reach out to MSMEs across the country.

“Skilling plays a consequential role in unlocking growth for India’s MSMEs. At Meta, we are committed to enabling timely skill development opportunities for businesses across their growth journeys. While the MSBA certification will particularly benefit entrepreneurs who are just starting out, our partnership with CAIT will empower traders across India to use WhatsApp Business app to connect with their customers and supercharge their growth journeys,” said Sandhya Devanathan, Vice President (India) Meta in a statement.

A Meta commissioned survey by market research company IPSOS Public Affairs in 2022 showed that 91 per cent of surveyed SMEs using digital tools in India reported that messaging apps and tools are a very important way to connect with customers, and more than half said that WhatsApp has helped their business increase access to new customers.

“Under the ‘WhatsApp Se Vyapaar’ campaign, we are thrilled to announce that we will work with Meta to train 1 million traders to digitally empower traders to boost their businesses using the WhatsApp Business App. We believe this initiative will unlock new growth opportunities for traders across India, and we look forward to partnering even more closely with Meta to expand the business and digital skilling charter in the months to come in order to address the evolving needs of the trading community,” said Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General, CAIT.

The partnership between CAIT and Meta will be conducted through thousands of trade associations under CAIT, the company said.