Meta announced a first-of-its-kind initiative called 'WhatsApp Bharat Yatra', where the company will go to Tier-II and Tier-III cities to provide on-ground, in-person training to small businesses.
Meta, the parent company of communication platform WhatsApp, has seen revenues from WhatsApp Business doubling in India in a year, said Sandhya Devanathan, vice-president and head -- India, Meta.
"India is one of the top markets for WhatsApp globally, not just in terms of users but also in messaging," Devanathan said.
"We are high priority because both in terms of users and what we are seeing in terms of business momentum, WhatsApp India is outpacing a whole bunch of other countries," Devanathan told Business Standard in a video call during the first WhatsApp Business Summit in Mumbai.
Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, unveiled a slew of features for small businesses on WhatsApp ahead of the festival season.
This includes Meta Verified badges for small businesses. Meta Verified will now be available to all eligible small businesses in India using the WhatsApp Business app.
With Meta Verified, businesses that choose to subscribe and demonstrate their authenticity will receive a verified badge, impersonation protection, account support, and premium features that help amplify their brand online and make it more efficient to chat with customers.
Since the global event 'Conversation' held in Mumbai last year, WhatsApp has seen good momentum in terms of growth, Devanathan added.
"Last year, we announced Payments and Flows, and we are seeing huge success there. We are seeing thousands more businesses adopt our products.
"We see payments doubling in volume and Click-to-WhatsApp (CTWA) also doubling in terms of revenue over the past year. I am encouraged by this growth as it's a reflection that businesses are finding value and users are finding value," Devanathan elaborated.
Meta does not share revenue numbers for individual geographies, nor does it break down revenue in terms of platforms. WhatsApp in India, however, has one of the largest user bases, with over 500 million users.
Devanathan explained that Click-to-WhatsApp, which is about businesses finding the audience on Facebook and Instagram and continuing that chat on WhatsApp, has seen its revenue double for the company in the past year.
With a clear focus on getting small businesses to use WhatsApp, the company also announced a first-of-its-kind initiative called 'WhatsApp Bharat Yatra', where the company will go to Tier-II and Tier-III cities across 10 locations in India to provide on-ground, in-person training to small businesses.
"We intend to engage and train over 20,000 small businesses across segments," she added.
Meta has been strengthening its offerings for businesses across sectors over the last year. The company is also focusing on its artificial intelligence offerings. Among these are AI Assistants and AI Agents.
While AI Agents are being actively tested with Indian businesses, it will be launched sometime in the first half of 2025.
AI Assistant is being piloted only in the US and Singapore.
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
