Vodafone wants to make it big from small businesses, startups

Vodafone India, the leader in the enterprises business in the telecom sector, is betting big on startups and SMEs to grow this vertical further that contributed 17 per cent of its revenue last fiscal year.
Already Vodafone serves around 6,000 large corporates with its enterprises business and the company said the revenue from this vertical has grown to almost 20 per cent now.
The company did not quantify the revenue from this vertical citing silent period ahead of its parent's earnings announcement next week, except saying it expects this vertical to grow much faster in revenue contribution.
The second-largest telco by subscribers and revenue, and is on course to be the largest after its merger with Idea Cellular which will be completed next year.

It also expects digital and content to drive its growth in the near future. "Convergence, digital transformation and content will be the key drivers for our business along with enterprises business," Vodafone India managing director and chief executive Sunil Sood told a select group of reporters here today.
He said startups and SMEs are playing a key role in fostering new ideas and enabling a digital India and that dynamic innovation needs strong technology support and trusted partners for sustainable growth.

"Our global experience as an enabler and our rich understanding and roots in this market, positions us to service the evolving needs of this market," Sood said and named the education startup Byjus as a key example of how Vodafone is helping the startups.

He said Vodafone's ready business proposition, which labelled as the "quick and dirty stuff" for an SME or a startup" is designed to provide a comprehensive suite of solutions empowering start-ups and SMEs to catalyse innovation and fast track growth.
Its enterprises business, mainly done through Vodafone Business Services, has contributed 12 per cent to its overall revenue in FY14, which rose to 14 per cent in FY15 and 15 per cent in FY15 and to 17 per cent last fiscal.
"In many ways telecom holds the key to the future. New technologies such as big data, artificial intelligence, analytics and machine learning etc will all be dependent on the telecom connectivity. With over 1 billion users, India is already one of the most exciting markets to do business in," he added.

Vodafone India launched a new brand positioning on October 31 and is also speeding up its digitalisation initiatives by partnering with its customers as they go digital.
Stating that the merger with Idea is inching towards final approvals having already bagged approvals from the regulators like Sebi and CCI, exchanges, he said the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai will begin the hearing from the first week of December.
Following NCLT approval, the companies will have to get the permission from the Department of Telecommunications and then from the Registrar of Companies, all of which is expected to come in due course and complete the merger through 2018.