Digitising small businesses an $80 bn opportunity over 5 years, says study

Gig economy, through the likes of Flipkart, Ola, Uber, Swiggy and Zomato, is pushing businesses to move to digital

With smartphone and internet penetration going up, millions of small businesses are moving online. A recent study, by consulting firm Zinnov, estimates that over $80 billion of digital services may be consumed by this new class of small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the country over the next five years.

According to the report, there are 75 million SMBs at present and this number is expected to grow to 105 million by 2024. About over 50 million SMBs are already using digital technologies, over smartphones, computers and the internet in their business workflows.

The study noted that over 600 aggregator businesses, many