Google announced yesterday, that it now plans to offer credit to millions of small merchants in India through its Google Pay app to assist small companies impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic. Over three million merchants now use the Google Pay app to make payments digitally.
There are more than 40 million micro-businesses in India, out of which 80 % are struggling to meet their working capital needs through banks, multiple surveys and reports have revealed.
Moreover, Google also introduced a program called ‘Grow with Google Small Business Hub’ so that all the small businesses can take full advantage of all google resources. This hub will include all the resources and products that a small company will need to operate digitally.
This is one of the many efforts that Google has made to help micro-businesses in India. In 2018, Google had launched the feature of pre-approved loans thought Google pay. It also introduced the ‘Nearby Stores” feature on the payments app through which small businesses like local shops can get discovered by potential customers.
Shalini Girish, Director, India, Google Customer Solutions said, “the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns have accelerated the need for many more businesses, especially small businesses to adopt technology and get online to minimise the disruption and recover. We recognize that recovery will come in different stages for different businesses and navigating the digital world can be a daunting experience for many.”
