CAIT and Meta to digitize 10 million local businesses via WhatsApp Business app

The partnership’s goal is to localize digitization efforts to unleash growth opportunities for businesses with hyper-local digital trainings in 11 Indian languages across all 29 Indian states.

Leveraging its wide network of 40,000 trade associations and 80 million traders across India, CAIT will conduct a series of workshops designed to provide comprehensive digital and skill training to equip businesses with essential knowledge to help digitize their storefront and build their ‘digital dukaan’ on the WhatsApp Business App, including educating them on the tools and features available on the app like Catalog, Quick Replies, Click to WhatsApp Ads, that make it easier for small businesses to connect with their customers efficiently. 

Over the years, the WhatsApp Business App has provided micro, small businesses and solopreneurs across India a democratized gateway to discover new markets and serve their customers, along with building a professional digital identity for their business.

Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said, “The reach and success that the WhatsApp Business App can offer are unparalleled. We are excited to expand our partnership with Meta on ‘WhatsApp Se Vyapaar’ program, which is designed to upskill 10 million traders across 29 states in India. This partnership will help traders and businesses build a more comprehensive customer base, scale their business, and contribute even further to India’s growing digital economy."

Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs, Meta said, “This is an era of entrepreneurship in India. India is experiencing a digital revolution, and the way Indian entrepreneurs and small businesses have embraced technologies like WhatsApp is a huge part of that. We want to keep helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to make the most of the opportunities ahead and continue to be at the heart of India’s Techade.”

The partnership will also accelerate CAIT’s digital skilling charter for the trading community by giving 25,000 traders access to the Meta Small Business Academy. A certification by Meta Small Business Academy will especially help new entrepreneurs and marketers gain critical digital marketing skills to grow on the Meta apps.

To enable the program to reach MSMEs across India, the course module and the examination are available in seven languages - English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu.