Facebook announced on Friday that it has set up a council for small and medium industries in India to help such ventures share feedback and leverage technology to grow their enterprise. The social networking giant has over two million Indian SMEs on its platform, with over 45 million small businesses actively using Facebook pages to connect to their consumers. This is the second SME Council set up by Facebook in the world, with the the first one being in the United States.
Facebook India Managing Director Kirthiga Reddy told PTI, "Small businesses are the backbone of India's economy. From kirana stores to restaurants and online clothing sites, these businesses drive economic growth, create new jobs and enrich the lives of people across the country." In a post, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said, "Small and medium enterprises drive 40% of India's exports. There are more than two million small businesses in India with active Facebook pages. We want to help these and all businesses grow by connecting them to customers across the globe."
Globally, Facebook has 1.55 billion users, with India providing the second-largest base after the US. Of the 138 million people on Facebook in India, more than half are connected to at least one small business in the country.
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