80% Of Indian SMEs Say Government Funding Key To Unlocking Digitalisation: Capterra

A majority (80%) of small and medium enterprises in India believe that government funding is critical to unlocking digitalisation in the future, according to a survey by Gartner-acquired online software marketplace Capterra Inc.

The survey—State of Digitalisation in India: Major Barriers and Role of Government—provides information about the state of digitalisation in the country with regard to government financing and initiatives, as well as significant obstacles and challenges faced by SMEs. The report is based on responses collected from 435 decision makers, including senior managers, CEOs and founders. Of these, 341 work in SMEs, whereas 94 work for organisations with more than 250 employees.

Key Insights

Below are some key highlights of the study:

• 65% of surveyed organisations have received government funding for digitalisation at least once.

• Eight out of 10 believe there should be more funding initiatives to facilitate digitalisation.

• 52% said that digitalisation would be challenging, or even impossible without government funding.

• One of the top barriers to digitalisation is cybersecurity, with 36% respondents saying that digitalisation should not come at the cost of cybersecurity issues like data breaches, data loss, and data theft.

• Other barriers to digitalisation include integration of new technology with the existing one (26%), lack of expertise to implement digitalisation (24%), and connectivity issues (23%).

Sukanya Awasthi, content analyst for Capterra India and State of Digitalisation in India survey, said, “In recent years, there has been an increased focus by the Indian government to supercharge the country's economy through digitalisation. India's ambitious target of becoming a $5-trillion economy with a 30% contribution from the MSME sector to GDP requires the sector to play a pivotal role in the country's growth story, which is why the government may be looking to providing various incentives, funding and budgetary allowances for SMEs in India.”