'AI to be great leveller for small businesses'

MUMBAI: IDFC First Bank MD & CEO V Vaidyanathan has said that AI will be a great leveller for small businesses, enabling firms without dedicated staff to market on the fly.In a conversation with ETNOW Leaders of Tomorrow, Vaidyanathan warned India's MSMEs that "if we are not digitised and not using the full power of AI, we are going to miss big opportunities.

"Kicking off this year's event themed "Emerging Businesses: The India Advantage", Vaidyanathan framed the 'India Advantage' as demand, digitisation, and entrepreneurship. Speaking as a long-time MSME-focused voice, he flagged a mindset shift from local-only to national/global play. "Earlier, firms stayed local; now they scale national-some go global." Tracing the arc of Indian business - from traditional dal and flour mills to digital-first D2C companies - he called the offline-to-online pivot a big deal.

He also highlighted the challenges faced by MSMEs. "Out of 100 entrepreneurs, VCs invest in maybe three or four. What about the balance 95? They don't get equity - and without equity, you don't get debt."The show highlights opportunities driving India's startup and MSME ecosystem and will feature top voices in industry, govt and academia. TNN