Meta Platforms Inc., formerly known as Facebook, has announced that it will train and skill nearly 1 Crore small businesses and 2.5 lakh creators in India in the next three years and has opened a new office in Gurugram, its first standalone office in Asia, for the same.
For this purpose, Meta will open up a Center for Fuelling India’s New Economy (C-FINE) in one of its biggest workplaces in Asia located at Gurugram. Facebook, or Meta has plans to provide training to 10 million entrepreneurs and small business owners and 250,000 innovators in India in the new office facility and will contain teams from Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp.
Alongside the training of businessmen, the C-FINE Center will also feature how technologies such as AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) can transform sectors like education, healthcare and commerce. Both AR and VR are crucial aspects of the plans for future expansion and growth of the Meta company, as envisaged by its Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
Facebook India (Meta) Vice President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan commented "India's not just the largest country for Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, it's also where in many ways, the future of the Internet is being shaped. We see this office as an opportunity for us to build a space that does not just house our largest team in the country, but will also be a space that deeply engages with the world outside."
The training will focus on skilling small businessmen’ promoters, creators, and local communities to enable them to encourage and take advantage of the digital transformation going on in the country. The new center will also show the “impact of new technologies on the digital ecosystem” of the country, as per the statement by Meta.
C-FINE will be a center with many purposes including community impact initiatives such as women’s and children’s safety training. According to Facebook India VP and MD, “We see this office as a chance to create a place that will host our country’s largest staff. The office will be available to everyone who wants to make a difference, whether they are artists, small business owners, entrepreneurs, or community leaders.”
The new office and C-FINE were inaugurated by Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state for electronics & information technology, skill development and entrepreneurship. Speaking at the event, the minister said “I hope initiatives like C-FINE, where technology is being positioned to fuel entrepreneurship and innovation, and empower youngsters all around the country, take their dreams and create critical mass, size and scale. This is exactly what the power of the Internet and technology should be.”
The micro, small and medium businesses (MSMEs), which suffered greatly as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, had to resort to social media and online marketing to sell and promote their goods and services. Many of these companies were first-time internet users and did not know the art of selling products online. Facebook, Whatsapp, and Instagram made it easy for such businesses to make their online presence known and connect with their new and existing customers.
Last month, Facebook (Meta) had come up with other initiatives to support small businesses, namely, Grow Your Business Hub and Grow Your Business Playbook which served businesses to find important information, tools, and resources arranged specifically for their business goals.
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