Indian entrepreneurs experienced significant business growth in 2022 with the Indian merchants on Shopify alone generating ₹30,100 crore in business activity, up from 9.8 per cent compared to the previous year.

The overall contribution of entrepreneurs to the national GDP in 2022 stood at ₹13,900 crore, an increase of 9.6 per cent from 2021, according to Shopify’s Entrepreneurship Index.

One of the key indicators of India’s entrepreneurial success is the creation of over 2 lakh (223,920) jobs in 2022, which is a 10 per cent increase from 2021 and a positive sign of the country’s burgeoning market for employment opportunities.

“India is a priority market for Shopify, and we’re in the top 30 countries globally in our index. In fact, the country has always been a story of entrepreneurship; it is day zero when it comes to India because the present is a small reflection of a large ecosystem,” said Bharati Balakrishnan, Director, and Country Head, India and South East Asia.

Driven by digital transformation

The index attributes the growth of Indian entrepreneurship to the country’s commitment to digital transformation and technological advancements, which have fostered an environment conducive to promoting and enabling entrepreneurial endeavors.

Moreover, Statista estimates that India’s e-commerce market will grow from $71 billion in 2023 to $119 billion in 2027, Shopify noted.

“As India continues its journey towards digitalisation and economic expansion, its ranking on the index is a testament to the country’s thriving digital landscape and the opportunity for forward-thinking entrepreneurs to build high-growth retail brands online,” Balakrishnan added.

According to the study, fully harnessing India’s entrepreneurial potential and overcoming one of the obstacles to its growth can be achieved by investing in cross-border commerce and export strategies.

The study revealed that Indian entrepreneurs encountered a decline of 1.5 per cent in exports in 2022 compared to the previous year.

Also, only 18 per cent of Indian merchants currently engage in cross-border online sales, indicating the need for greater focus and support in this area.

Global data

Globally, the data reveal that the US ranks first, followed by Lithuania and Romania. However, regionally, Asia dominates the index, with four countries in the top 10 — Australia, China, Hong Kong, and Japan — and 10 countries in the top 40.

Additionally, combined, Shopify merchants around the world supported 5.2 million jobs (+8.3 per cent from 2021), generated $27.7 billion of exports (+7 per cent), contributed $229.3 billion to GDP (+8.8 per cent), and created $490.5 billion in economic activity (+8.6 per cent).

Vietnam saw the second-highest number of jobs supported (4,71,474) only behind the US.

Japan is Asia’s success story, ranked 10th in the index, with the impact of its entrepreneurs up across every metric: exports increased 29 per cent, business activity and jobs supported are up 24 per cent, and GDP impact is up 23 per cent.

Shopify, a global commerce company, has beta launched the Shopify Entrepreneurship Index, highlighting the growth and impact of Indian entrepreneurs on the country’s economy.

The Shopify Entrepreneurship Index is a new study conducted by Deloitte using data on the millions of entrepreneurs in the Shopify ecosystem and supplemented with IMF, OECD, and World Bank data for the purposes of economic modelling.

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