Facebook, Inc. (NASDAQ:FB) is partnering with venture capital funds such as Sauce VC, Fireside Ventures, and SAIF partners to upskill and mentor medium and small enterprises in India. Director (Small and medium enterprises) of Facebook, Archana Vohra, said the company wants to deepen its ties with the government for significant empowerment and financial inclusion for SMEs.
Whatsapp payments stuck in regulatory hurdles
According to Archana, enabling quick payments to SMEs is the key to drive growth. WhatsApp is thriving in India. Therefore, allowing WhatsApp payments, which is currently stuck in hurdles, is a big plus for the SMEs. To achieve success, an entrepreneur needs to train the people, solve the logistics, decide on margins, and enable quick payments.
Facebook invested in payments
Facebook has already invested in payments. Therefore, the social media giant helps people with payments at the right time. Facebook introduced Facebook Pay in the US and validating the Check-out feature on its Instagram in the US to allow the users to transact on the photo-sharing app of Facebook.
Facebook has introduced the VC incubator programme and established partnership with venture capital funds: Fireside Ventures, Sauce VC, and SAIF Partners to help and train over seventy brands that include Sleepy Owl and Chaayos. The company has put in a lot of effort this year to help the SMEs grow.
Archana said the company began with establishing a small startup and a venture capital fund to check the feasibility of this model. It later added more brands and VC funds. The company expects that a lot of other VCs will join this initiative this year and in 2020. Some big initiatives of Facebook this year are the launch of a global education program to empower advertisers and businesses to launch automated ads and reach goals in Hindi.
Facebook plans to digitally empower over 2.5 lakh people by investing in partnerships like CSC. It will introduce several such initiatives next year and plans to train SMEs in other platforms as well to help them achieve success online.
Acquires Beat Games
Facebook acquired Beat Games, the company behind the development of ‘Beat Saber’, a virtual reality game. Following the takeover, Facebook will merge Beat Games with its Oculus division.
