A FRAMEWORK TO TRANSFORM SMES IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES - A CASE STUDY OF INDIA

Businesses around the globe are expanding their horizon and advancing their business activities to other counties. India is also a major shareholder of global trade. All the emerging economies are trying to gain the king's share in the world of International Business. SMEs play an important role in emerging economies including India. The number of SMEs in India is estimated to be around 42.50 Million, including registered and unregistered companies. They provide employment to 106 million people, which is 40% of the Indian population. SMEs contribute to 40% export in India (Data from MSME/CII Reports, 2017). They have various strengths like the availability of cheap labour, the abundance of resources, and the rise in disposable income of the Indian population, influx n domestic and foreign capital. Indian SMEs can use all these factors and gain further prominence. There are four broad categories through which SMEs can get involved in International Business, these are exports, contractual agreements, production investment, and strategic alliances. This research will majorly focus on the export processes. The Research methodology used for the collection of data and analysis comprises of both primary and secondary research. Secondary research was done through analysing data and information present in a number of research papers, globally published reports, news articles, etc. Primary research was conducted using the qualitative technique of face to face interviews, where decision makers of SMEs, academicians from the industry, and industry experts were interviewed. The questions implored the major challenges faced by SMEs, the reach of government initiatives tailor made for the SME sector, issues in finding prospective clients/buyers, internal challenges of the organization, etc. SME sector needs to adapt to the Go Global concept as it is no more a choice but a survival tactic to have steady business growth. Internationalization will open large markets for goods and services, help in mitigating risk, and earning higher profits. The authors suggest recommendations like starting awareness programs as there is a lack of awareness about the existence of such initiatives. Conducting of City level Internationalization Training Programs where SMEs should be informed about the process and methods of how to approach it. Making available market development assistance schemes where SMEs can easily create a market for their goods and services can be made easily available.