SMEs urged to list to have access to finance

SMEs urged to list to have access to finance

Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) that tap the market for finance are those that are doing good, said Sundararaman Ramamurthy, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Bombay Stock Exchange.

Speaking at a seminar on “Strengthening Market Access for SME Corporates” organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Coimbatore, on Thursday, he said that SMEs play a major role in the economy with their contribution to GDP, exports, and job generation. However, non availability of finance is a roadblock. The BSE educates SMEs on the challenges that they can face when they come to the market and how to take faster decisions.

Among various revenue sources available for MSMEs, one of the most important that can help them grow bigger is raising capital from the market. Only good SMEs come to the market to raise capital. Once a small or medium enterprise comes to the market, the public will be involved.

The Indian capital market is more than 200 years old and the stock exchange itself is around 150 years old. Awareness is important for MSMEs to tap the market for finance. With more awareness creation and capital formation, the number will multiply. There are around 7.8 crore on MSMEs in this country. Many of them may not have a method of reporting the revenue because they are not listed.

The BSE has created the AI based tools and given it to the merchant banks. When MSMEs submit the application, they can use the tool to check whether it is fully compliant. The BSE also talks to potential MSMEs and helps them list, he said.