Facebook committed to India's growth and socio-economic transformation

Over the last 14 years, Facebook has been fueling India’s socio-economic transformation by delivering on Facebook’s  mission - we have connected millions of Indians with each other and provided a platform to businesses, large and small, to grow and thrive. We have enabled communities to come together and connect over common passions or causes they believe in. At the first edition of Facebook Fuel for India, Facebook underscored the importance of India and its plans to partner with India as it continues on its digital transformation journey. 

India’s dramatic pace of transformation excites us

India is experiencing an exciting socio-economic transformation, driven by the rapid adoption of digital technologies. Nearly 700 million people in India have access to the internet -- fueling the creation of innovative new enterprises in everything from entertainment to healthcare and education.  

Also read:  Facebook launches ‘Nayi Shuruaat’ campaign

Mark Zuckerberg, Founder, Chairman and CEO, Facebook said, “What happens in India is important for the whole world. India's building local capabilities and tech capacity to power innovative new business models and provide the citizens access to digital financial inclusion. So, decisions that are made here shape the global discussion about how technology can drive more economic opportunity and better outcomes for people.” 

India first approach to many products 

The largest communities for Facebook and WhatsApp are in India and Instagram is getting there. This makes India a key market to test and roll our new features from here. From the launch of Reels on Instagram, to Watch on Facebook and Payments on WhatsApp, India is playing a crucial role in the way products are being designed for the future. We launched the Blood Donation tool in India, a first in 2017 to address the shortage of blood in the country. Today there are more than 52 million Facebook users in the country who have signed up to receive blood donation notifications from blood banks.  

Being a platform for economic opportunity

As the world grapples with the economic impact of the pandemic, we believe we have an important role to play in the economic recovery of businesses, especially small businesses. Every month, 200 million small businesses globally use the Facebook family of apps to reach potential customers and build their business. There are 15 million WhatsApp Business app users in India.

• Helping small businesses get online: The pandemic has fueled digital acceleration; The Facebook-Boston Consulting Group ‘Turn The Tide’ study found that digitally influenced  purchases for key categories such as consumer packaged goods, mobile phones, and apparel had increased by 15%-20% for urban consumers in just three months after pandemic. This has led many businesses, particularly small businesses, to move online. In order to support small businesses move online seamlessly, we recently reached out to 9 million small businesses across India with a local SMB Guide available in both Hindi and English.
• Investment in India’s digital ecosystem: We are partnering and investing in India’s digital ecosystem as an opportunity to create long-term impact in areas that are relevant for the country. These include equity investments in Meesho - focused on social commerce & women entrepreneurship and Unacademy - focused on education.

• Investment in Jio Platforms: In collaboration with Jio Platforms, we want to further accelerate India’s digital transformation and work to open up new opportunities for people and businesses around the country. Focused on empowering more than 60 million small businesses, together we will provide them with digital tools that have the potential to transform their future. We believe that this collaboration will be a positive enabler for the entire digital ecosystem of the country. 

Fueling India’s growth in 2021 

• Focussed on driving economic recovery in 2021 by deepening support for small businesses: Facebook is deeply committed to helping small businesses recover from the pandemic. The Nayi Shuruaat campaign launched during the Facebook Fuel for India is an ode to the resilience of small businesses amidst crisis. The campaign film captures real stories of how small businesses have moved online during the pandemic to recover, make a new start, and grow using the power of their Facebook communities. Facebook will continue to work closely with key partners to build a stronger ecosystem for small business growth in the country by investing in skilling programs such as Boost with Facebook, entering in key partnerships such as with venture capital funds for the VC Brand Incubator program, and by giving people new ways to support small businesses such as the Instagram Food Stickers.
• Unlocking newer social video experiences: Our family of apps consisting of Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp cater and appeal to a diverse demographic and our offerings deliver timely & culturally relevant videos spanning a wide range of topics and interests that people care about.  Moving forward, we expect India’s appetite for video to only increase with 5G adding a new dimension to video viewing experience.Globally,more than 1.25 billion people visit Watch every month to discover and share videos from millions of creators and publishers and India is one of the leading markets for Watch. Our video strategy for India is truly reflective of  the width of consumer tastes in the country and we will continue to invest in Movies, Music and Cricket to drive engagement and give our community what they want.

• Partner India’s agenda of driving digital and financial inclusion: We’re actively supporting the government’s efforts to drive economic growth through financial inclusion under the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and bridging the digital divide on the internet. WhatsApp, through its partnerships with various financial institutions also enables a broad suite of fintech solutions like Micro-pensions, digital insurance products, and others, to empower the underserved. We have built affirmative programs to bridge the digital gender divide as well as boost rural entrepreneurship through  digital skilling.