Helping MSMEs grow

Over the years, there has been a significant focus on helping manufacturing companies' growth, which came with its share of challenges. Here are a few key points to ensure the growth of MSMEs despite challenges...

- Shraddha Subramanian

Stages of growth

Since its formation, the MSME segment has proven to be a highly dynamic Indian economy sector. There are three stages of growth for any business. They are:

• Survival: Survival is the most important part. Surviving various challenges makes it hard for the business to grow. A manufacturing company must try to grow even when survival is at stake.

• Sustenance: Sustenance helps in building the trust that production is adequate and taking care of day-to-day operations. Reaching this stage also indicates that the business is out of its survival stage.

• Thriving: In the future, the profit margins start to increase, boosting the organisation to buy new machinery and implement new requirements. This is the stage where every business aspires to be. This has a huge horizon as it is a true sign of expansion.

Any business aiming to grow goes through these stages with their fair share of challenges, such as:

Challenges for MSMEs

• Lack of vision: Many MSMEs have very limited vision. Because of the lack of capital, the investment in machinery and infrastructure is just to make sure the manufacturing lines work. Their ability to invest in modern equipment and technology is also less because of limited financial resources, which may not qualify for thinking about expansion, next steps, long-term planning and a solid vision.

• Lack of resources: MSMEs feel a lack of resources all the time. This leads to complete burnout for every new product or manufacturing line they plan to start, as they feel a lack of resources which actually may not be the case.