How financing will help accelerate India’s digital transformation

I recently spent a week in India meeting with partners and customers in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Every time I am in India, I am amazed by the pace of change since my last visit. The country is rapidly transforming into one of the world’s largest digital economies.

Morgan Stanley estimates the Indian economy will reach $5 trillion by 2025. Traveling through the country and speaking with business leaders, customers, partners and Cisco employees, it is easy to see why.

Several factors are driving India’s digital transformation, but two in particular stood out to me on my most recent trip: digital initiatives by the Indian government and the rapid digital evolution of SMBs in India.

In both cases, financing can—and is—playing a significant role in bringing about change.

Digital initiatives by the government of India

National initiatives such as Digital India are helping drive India’s transformation and spurring growth at both the federal and state level. Digital India is focused on three, far reaching outcomes: the development of a secure and stable digital infrastructure, delivering government services digitally, and universal digital literacy.

This digital push is driving the need for a greater variety of financing models and creative structures. With the right customers and partners, Cisco Capital will focus on projects that further these initiatives over the next five years.

For example, India’s service providers underpin its Digital India initiative. They are being supported by Cisco Capital’s ability to finance much needed infrastructure to ensure that this rapidly growing nation’s demand for digital services can be met well into the future.

As India is focused on the development of smart cities, Cisco Capital is also open to supporting suitable opportunities for city infrastructure financing across the country.

The rapid digital evolution of Indian SMBs

India has over 51 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). While the vast majority of them are not digital today—especially outside of so called tier 1 cities such as Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai—Indian consumers and SMBs are rapidly digitizing.

Cisco Capital is helping accelerate this transformation by providing SMBs with access to the capital they need to invest in their businesses. We are doing so by letting them use technology in the way that best meets their needs.

Take Cisco Easy Pay, for example. Indian SMBs can use Cisco Easy Pay to buy hardware, software and services with attractive financing rates for three years — then have the option to return and refresh the hardware at the end of that period. For some businesses, that is a smarter way to buy and own their technology, and fund their digital transformations.

In order to meet the demand for IT financing in the SMB and midmarket space, Cisco Capital is also partnering with select finance providers in India, such as Tata Capital, to expand our capabilities across this growing segment.

The importance of India within the Asia Pacific region is indisputable and the rate at which it is transforming is impressive. Cisco is playing an important role in the growth of India and Cisco Capital is providing crucial financial support to organizations as they accelerate their digital transformation.

It was a great honor meeting with our Indian customers and partners during my visit and I look forward to returning in the not too distant future.