Indian entrepreneurs look to Middle East for further boost amid small business boom
NEW DELHI: Indian entrepreneurs are increasingly looking to expand into the Middle East as small businesses in India seek to make the most of their strong growth trajectory.
The country boasts around 63 million micro, small and medium enterprises, up from 47.7 million in July 2024, latest government data shows. The sector contributes to some 30 percent of India's GDP and 45 percent of its exports.
Amid the boom, Indian entrepreneurs seeking to scale up their businesses are now eyeing collaborations across various sectors with their counterparts in the Middle East.
'We are working with, at present, with … Bahrain, you know, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, by attending various exhibitions, fairs organized by these countries. We are taking world-class Indian MSME delegations to these countries, hundreds of MSMEs, for (business) matchmaking,' Vijay Kumar, director general of the World Association for Small and Medium Enterprises, told Arab News at the 2025 MSME Day in New Delhi.
He added he was particularly optimistic about the potential for growth for Indian businesses and their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, saying that they were already collaborating.
"(The) future is very good for Saudi MSMEs and Indian MSMEs,' he said. 'I'm sure in the coming years not only things will be multiplied … (but) thousands of Saudi MSMEs and Indian MSMEs (will) start (feeling the) benefits and become the global partner(s) for export and providing employment to their own countries.'
The rising interest toward the Middle East is due to the region's business landscape and its wealth of opportunities, according to Naveen Sharma, chairman of Athena Ventures.
'The reason for Indian MSMEs' expansion is that nowadays Indian MSMEs are doing very well. They are now flushed with funds, they have the right technology, they have good processes. So they are very keen to expand, and (the) Middle East is a very fertile business environment in which Indian MSMEs can really flourish,' he told Arab News.
'Already many of them have invested there, and as you may be knowing because of the free trade agreements, because of the liberal trade policies, liberal tax policies, many Indian MSMEs are also making Gulf countries their hubs for billing and logistics, all those things.'
The government has described small and medium businesses as the 'backbone' of the Indian economy and a key pillar of growth as the sector has emerged as the second-largest employer in the country after agriculture, generating more than 281 million jobs.
Rimjhim Saikia, an entrepreneur and WASME's joint director, said small and medium enterprises were contributing to transform India into a developed nation.
'We are progressing towards that and a big role is being played by the MSMEs,' Saikia told Arab News.
She said she had witnessed more engagements between India and the Middle East in her sector, adding that there was 'a lot of scope for Indian MSMEs to join hands' with their counterparts from the region.
'This is the right time, I would say, for Indian SMEs to actually look towards the Middle East,' she said.
Many small and medium businesses are collaborating with Middle Eastern countries in prominent sectors, including hospitality, pharmaceuticals and textiles.
Having brought over two dozen Indian entrepreneurs to Saudi Arabia herself last September, she said the Kingdom's Vision 2030 transformation project in particular held massive potential.
'(The) 2030 vision is very important for Saudi, but that also holds a lot of importance for Indian MSMEs because, with the Vision 2030 opens up a plethora of opportunities … both in the manufacturing and the trading sector,' she added.
'I think for everyone, every MSME, there is a lot of hope for a very good … future in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi (Arabia) for expanding their business.'
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