Sunil Ohri, a small-scale entrepreneur from Ambala Cantonment (200 km north of Delhi) ventured into his own business of software development in January 2008. That was when the global financial meltdown devastated many businesses engaged in outsourcing. Ohri, then in his mid-twenties, ploughed on.
He has already posted revenues of Rs 12 crore in the first six months of the current financial year, compared to last year’s annual turnover of close to Rs 9 crore.
“I left the job of a web developer to start my own business when the economies of the West were going through a recession. I borrowed Rs 50,000 to start the business and worked 16 hours a day, as I did not want to squander my funds on staff salaries. I thought that every day thousands of users join the internet club, so there is always room for growth. And I have proved this. With a team of 29 software engineers at two locations (Ambala and Hyderabad), my firm expects to do a business of over Rs 20 crore this year,” said Ohri.
Ohri is in the business of applications and web development and has already got awards for the ‘fastest growing SME’ and ‘highest turnover under SME category’ from STPI (Software Technology Parks of India). His company, Xportsoft Technologies, is a 100 per cent export oriented unit (EOU) and exports software to the United States, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
Ohri is not an exception. There are other start-ups in Punjab that are flourishing.
Chandigarh-based CueBlocks Technologies (P) Ltd, which develops online marketing solutions for small- and medium-sized e-commerce businesses in the global market, is planning to launch two online stores for the Indian market in the next four to six months. Founded by three friends, it will be the first company based out of Chandigarh to launch such a venture.
Said Pancham Prashar, one of the founders: “The first store will offer office supplies, stationery and office furniture. As for the second store, we are working on the modalities and will make an announcement very soon.”
“We help e-commerce businesses create their online store’s presence (be it store design, programming or mobile presence) and devise strategies on getting more online customers via search marketing, social media, organic traffic and other techniques. We currently have all of our clients based out of North America and Europe. This expertise is going to help us in venturing into e-commerce stores,” he added.
SMEs are also taking the inorganic growth route. Chandigarh-based Altruist Technologies Pvt Ltd recently acquired Sweden-based Teligent Telecom, a supplier of infrastructure solutions and value-added services (VAS) to telecom carriers, in an all-cash transaction. The deal, valued at €13-14 million (Rs 88-95 crore), may help it foray into developed markets such as Europe and the US.
A provider of VAS to telecom players such as Airtel, Tata Teleservices, Aircel and Vodafone, Altruist was founded in 2007. While it has a presence in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, the acquisition will expand its presence in Europe, North Africa and the US.
“With this acquisition, Teligent will serve as the platform for our entry into developed markets, as business development from ground zero there is fairly tough. It will start as our footprint in these markets and we will look to add more services in those markets,” said Anuj Aggarwal, the director of the company.
Teligent expects revenues of €14-15 million (Rs 95-102 crore), which would help Altruist nearly double its net revenue in FY13 to €27-30 million (Rs 183-203 crore), Aggarwal added.
