Indian SMEs seek greater UK engagement

The Indian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) sector has called for greater engagement from the UK business community.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) UK tied up with King's College London's India Institute here yesterday to look into the support available for small Indian firms looking to expand into the UK as well as British SMEs looking at emerging markets.
"SMEs are very important as the next level of growth will come from that sector. But there is a lack of engagement from the UK in this sector. Some of these Indian firms are internationalised with a presence around the world but when they come to the UK, there is a certain level of engagement missing," said Gunveena Chadha, Director and UK head of CII.

The event also analysed the findings of a joint research conducted by academics from King's College London, Imperial College London and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIM-B) into the impact of social networks in the founding and growth of trans-national SMEs.
"Our research focused on 15 case studies of trans-national entrepreneurs to gauge the extent to which social ties impact their businesses. What became clear is that one size does not fit all," said Dr Sarika Pruthi, lecturer in International Entrepreneurship and Strategy at King's College London.
Her co-researcher Professor Mathew Manimala from IIM-B highlighted the important role played by SMEs in India, which command a 40 per cent share of the country's exports.

"It is clear that the British economy needs to engage more with Indian SMEs. It is an important time in India and the need for ground information has never been greater," said Sunil Khilnani, Director of King's India Institute.