Meta COO Sheryl Sandberg is of the opinion that when it comes to commerce in India, two very different worlds exist. “There’s very digitally-savvy shoppers of online marketplaces, ride shares and food ordering. And there’s people shopping in really small mom-and-pop shops who don’t have access to sophisticated banking systems,” she tells Business Today, in an exclusive interview. And this is where its partnership with Reliance’s Jio becomes important.
“We think this partnership gives us an opportunity to work together to bridge these two worlds and [which] benefits the entire digital ecosystem of the country. Jio is really integrated into WhatsApp so that people can simply message with Jio on WhatsApp. Our goal is to enable new opportunities for businesses of all sizes, especially the nearly 16 million SMBs [small and midsize businesses] across India and democratise access. This is probably the deepest partnership we’ve ever done and it’s because of Jio’s really special place in what is such an important market for us,” she explains.
The focus for the company is SMBs. “We have over 200 million small businesses using our platforms to reach people, and we have 10 million advertisers. In India, we have 15 million WhatsApp for Business users. Over 300 million people around the world have liked or are following a small business page on Facebook in India,” Sandberg adds.
The Covid-19 pandemic, she says, acted as a catalyst for small businesses. “[Our survey in India] found that 53 per cent of small businesses and 47 per cent of micro businesses were using digital sales channels. That was 29 per cent before the pandemic. [And] 60 per cent of small business owners said pivoting online helped keep them afloat during Covid-19. And if you look at the state of small business report from September, in India, 52 per cent of operational SMBs using Facebook reported making at least 25 per cent of their sales digitally. So that digital transformation was happening and it’s going to continue to happen and we think it creates a really exciting opportunity.”
Of the partnerships the Menlo Park-headquartered company has had, its investment in Jio was “one of the most important and deepest partnerships we’ve ever done”, says the Meta COO. In April 2020, when India was battling the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Meta (then Facebook) announced that it was investing Rs 43,574 crore (or around $5.7 billion) for a 9.99 per cent stake in Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance’s Jio Platforms. Sandberg adds that Jio fuelled a “really incredible” digital transformation in India.
The Menlo Park-headquartered company is also going through a transformation with its big bet on the metaverse. And as Facebook transforms into Meta, India will be a big part of it.
“India is one of the largest communities on Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram. We’ve got nearly half a billion people in India using Facebook every month. India is also going through a tremendous digital transformation. There are 700 million people on the Internet and that’s going to grow to a billion in the next few years. And one in two people own a smartphone. So, it is an unusual combination of one of the largest countries in the world going through a very strong tech transformation,” says Sandberg. Explaining the rebranding, the Meta COO says it reflects “more where we’re going than where we’ve been”.
The Meta COO points out that India has “very devoted” users of the company’s products. “So, in many ways India is our largest and most important community. And we believe that will continue. When we think about India’s flourishing ecosystem, one of the largest app developer bases, you’ve got unbelievably talented creators gaining popularity. Just the same way the population of India, [which] is so active in our current products, are going to be even more active, we think, in the metaverse. We are also a partnership company. We’ve had a great partnership with Jio, Meesho and Unacademy. We are deep in with local companies because we know it takes local expertise to build the products that people are going to most use,” she says.
Sandberg says that the company is always on the lookout for the right partnership opportunities. “We also have tens of thousands developers building products for our platform in India… And India is a special market, but it’s definitely something we’re open to when it makes sense.”
The country has also been home to a number of pilots, such as a lighter version of the Facebook app. “India also has a very unique creator ecosystem. Your creators flourish, your app developers flourish. There’s a lot we’ve learnt in India which we will be able to translate globally,” Sandberg says.
To catch the full interview and to read the complete story on Meta’s mega plans for India, catch the special 30th Anniversary Edition of Business Today. Out on stands now.