Developing products and services that are India first

The present geopolitical circumstances have once again highlighted the need for India to become self-reliant in every aspect if it has to realise its true potential. We cannot achieve our goals piggy-riding on the innovations, products, services, and ideas of others, not at least those from countries that have a hostile attitude towards India. This is why India needs to focus on developing products and services that are India first, i.e. made in India, made for India, and made by Indians. Thankfully, over the last few years, we have started taking firm steps towards the realisation of the ultimate goal of “Atmanirbhar Bharat.”

Evolution of India as a breeding ground for entrepreneurs

Indian is emerging as a land of opportunities where first-generation entrepreneurs are not only thriving but are making a significant impact on the global markets. But these changes are very recent and gathered pace only when the cost and time period for starting new businesses reduced significantly, giving rise to the much-famous “start-up” culture in India. Now, various pockets of start-up hubs have emerged across different cities in India, providing the much-needed pace to the growth efforts of the Indian corporate sector. As an individual who has more than 15 years of experience as an entrepreneur, it is heartening to see fantastic business ideas emerging from the Tier-II and Tier-II cities in the country.

Developing products and services that are India first

While the nation is certainly treading on the right path, it must gather pace now if we desire to beat China at its own game, i.e. first, we need to strengthen our domestic markets and then aim for global domination. Merely having a great idea will not suffice here, we need to develop products and services that are India first. Problems that normal Indians face can not be solved by products and services offered by international corporations who are not much concerned with our everyday problems like lack of potable water, solid waste management, lack of access to medical care, power cuts, lower quality of education and many more.

These are the problems which need to be solved urgently if we wish to achieve the target of $5 trillion economies. Indian entrepreneurs, existing and aspiring, must understand that India is the only country after China in terms of population. When we have such a huge domestic market, a large part of which resides in rural and semi-urban areas, why not focus on solving their problems. If a Chinese app like TikTok can capture the imagination of individuals residing in semi-urban areas, then why cannot an Indian app replicate the same.

How to adapt a business to meet the needs of India?

Here are some key aspects of entrepreneurship that emerging businesses will do well to incorporate in their practices: -

-     Think beyond the obvious: - Merely having a good idea will not translate into a successful business. Entrepreneurs first need to identify a problem or problems that individuals are facing, and then create a solution for that problem, for which the users are willing to pay. The key to developing a sustainable business model is to go beyond the obvious and tap into real-world issues. For instance, using AI enabled solutions for Indian market, given that the existing models developed in other countries won’t really work at scale because of the difference in underlying data. We already see examples emerging in healthcare and financial services, and we need it in other sectors as well. Combining AI and video itself has a lot of use cases for India. 

-     Leverage the technology: - While the cost of starting a new business has reduced significantly, entrepreneurs need to leverage the technology for scaling their business quickly and in a cost-efficient way. For instance, in order to start an internet based enterprise, now there is no need to invest heavily in infrastructure like servers, bandwidth, licenses and other equipment. One can opt for a pay as you go or cloud services which require you to pay only for the services you require. By taking such an approach, companies can grow quickly with even minimal access to funding.

-     Differentiate yourself: - Just because a business model has been successful in the western markets, it does not mean that it will be successful in India. There is no use of you being the “nth” company in a marketplace already overcrowded and dominated by several other players. You need to differentiate yourself from the competition by focusing on gaining a competitive advantage. This can be achieved through better customer service, user-interface in vernacular languages, cultural-sensitivity, better pricing and several other approaches.

-     Look beyond the market size: - In the era of aggressive competition, entrepreneurs need to fight hard to create a place for themselves. It is better to focus on a niche market and become a significant player there instead of fighting hard to stay relevant in a crowded market. For instance, if you have a great idea which addresses the problems in rural areas, then it is totally worth pursuing because this way you can be adding more value to your company as well as make a change in the lives of people.

The Indian growth story is well and truly alive, even though presently, it is going through some challenges. But this is, in fact, an opportunity to re-align ourselves and turn this into a position of strength to give impetus to the growth of the economy.