Spotlighting the Entrepreneurs Shaping Northeast India’s Growth Story
Small businesses are at the heart of India’s growth story. At the event, entrepreneurs from the Northeast highlighted how they are building scalable brands, creating local jobs, and driving innovation in their communities. Representing a diverse mix of homegrown brands and artisans, local retailers and creators, their stories reflect the growing ambition of Northeast India’s business community. Previously restricted in their reach, the role of digital technologies, and Meta ads, has helped many of these brands to get discovered and find an opportunity to expand across India and even internationally.
The Next Phase of Growth for Small Businesses
The first is AI.
AI-powered tools are helping businesses automate campaign creation, improve performance, and generate creative assets faster than ever before. Solutions such as Meta‘s Advantage+ suite and Generative AI creative tools are making advanced marketing capabilities more accessible to businesses of every size.
Said Upamanyu Borkakoty, Founder of Woolah Tea,
“We have been running Meta Ads for the last 4 years. Using the AI-powered Advantage+ Shopping campaign has been a game changer. Our orders jumped more than 600% within just 6 months of shifting focus on the Advantage + Shopping Campaign. I am delighted to be a part of this event organized for SMEs of North East, and would love to see lots of more successful businesses from the region scale and get recognized”
The second is messaging.
For many small businesses, WhatsApp has evolved from a communication tool into a business engine – helping entrepreneurs manage customer conversations, showcase products, generate leads and drive sales.
Today, more than 200,000 small businesses in India use Click-to-WhatsApp ads every month to connect with customers. Features such as catalogues, quick replies, labels and customized messaging are helping businesses deliver faster, more personalized customer experiences while operating efficiently.
Said Rimjim Deka, Founder of Littlebox India,
“Meta has been at the heart of the business we have scaled so far. We have used several Meta tools from the very beginning, and currently, Advantage+ is the one we extensively use to help us scale much more efficiently. We also use Instagram as the window for our brand and the community we are building. Running Instagram Partnership Ads has proven to be very fruitful. I am glad to be part of Meta‘s first-of-its-kind event in the Northeast. I hope that every young entrepreneur present can take away learnings to further scale their businesses.”
Reaching Customers in India’s Digital Economy
Recent Meta-commissioned IPSOS research highlights the growing opportunity for businesses in India’s digital economy.
Among surveyed users, 97% watch videos on Meta platforms daily, while 73% of surveyed rural users discover new products and brands through Meta platforms. The research also found that Meta influences product discovery for 81% of users and purchase decisions for 47% of users. These trends are creating unprecedented opportunities for businesses — regardless of size or location — to connect with customers across India.
Said Punam Gogoi, Founder, CareerClass,
“Students don’t enroll because they see an advertisement; they enroll because they find someone they trust. Meta has helped CareerClass turn awareness into trust, trust into guidance, and guidance into success. I’ve seen how a single digital insight can completely transform the way an organization connects with people. Meta’s MSME initiatives empower businesses to think bigger, market smarter, and unlock opportunities that once seemed out of reach.”
Supporting the Next Generation of Entrepreneurs
As more entrepreneurs embrace digital tools and AI technologies, the opportunity for small businesses to grow beyond traditional boundaries continues to expand. By bringing together entrepreneurs and business owners from across Northeast India, the World MSME Day gathering in Guwahati aimed to help small businesses learn from one another, build new connections, and explore practical ways to unlock their next phase of growth. As India’s digital economy continues to evolve, Meta remains committed to helping businesses of every size access the tools, technologies and opportunities they need to grow.
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