An article by Dr. Jayanta Chakravorty highlights the prospects of AI in the SME sector.
Globally, India has the largest pull of small & medium enterprises (SME)or small
& medium Business (SMB)whatever you may call with 63 million presences,
next come Indonesia with 63 million, Nigeria 37 million & USA with 30 million.
World Economic Forum report shows that there was a huge growth of SMB/SME
formation just after the pandemic, where the highest being UK followed by the USA, then Australia, etc.
The pandemic made a paradigm shift with the collapse of the normal system of interaction with many regulations & restrictions on daily living – supply chain
took a hit.
With the use of digital medium & tech-we learned the new way of living lifedigitally with the use of online platform from meeting to ordering food & utilities – there came a shift from brick & mortar business to digital avatar of business.
In Brazil alone, the number of businesses that became online is fabulous it was 208%
growth from 2019 to 2020 (source-WEF report).
A game changer day ,30th November 2022- a major date for another Paradigm
shift as Open ai launched ChatGPT- it made AI a reach for public, enterprises &
must for every domain. May I say it democratised AI from the domain of a few elite chosen Tech Guru to AI for all!
MIT tech magazine mentioned it as an artificial intelligence gold rush. Gen AI can bring an estimated $4.4 trillion to global economy & trade (World economy forum report)
In fact, allow me to say we can divide life & business as World before ChatGPT
& world after ChatGPT.
Worldwide A major shift happeniWorldwide A major shift happening very subtly when Business is no longer only a money-making activity -it is now Profit with Purpose.ng very subtly when Business is no longer only
a money-making activity -it is now Profit with Purpose.
How your business can transform mankind & make a better world is now the
center of focus.
The Paris agreement focuses on climate control with the best use of science & technology for economy & social transformations. Since 2020, all countries have submitted their national climate action plans.
To thrive in this new landscape, the SME/SMB needs to adopt & strategically
implement AI( specially responsible AI) & implement sustainability.
Many SME are fast adopters, but they need more customised advisory & guide & hand holding to adopt the right tech and build a new skill set for their team. As for
many SMB globally Business owner runs more than the business itself.
While the exponential growth model works for tech business -in case of SME, many
manufacturing units needs innovation of business process. As global access is
now more & more affordable due to the positive initiative of many forums ,online
platforms are more vibrant to offer business access & networking.
Intello Labs is an India-based Agri-tech startup that uses AI to improve the sustainability of small-scale farming. Intello’s AI-powered platform helps farmers monitor crop health, predict yield, and manage resources more
efficiently It makes them use 20% less water & fertilizer.
While many use cases there for adoption of AI & and sustainability, we see a
new horizon gives business edges to global access, many Govt taking initiative
for SME scalability with adopting technology & sustainability with funds,
Knowledge sharing, skilling & tax reductions. Organisations like Indian Economic trade organisations helping with business intelligence & networking for global market access.
As we look ahead, the SMBs that prioritize adaptability, innovation, and
sustainability will be the ones shaping the next era of commerce.
Dr. Jayanta Chakravorty is a strategist, educator, and consultant based in Kolkata, India.
He can be contacted at 9830129635 email-biz.aglobal@gmail.com
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