Many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) within the nation really feel that the present AI options are usually not tailor-made to their particular wants, they usually require merchandise which can be easy, reasonably priced, and customised for various segments of the MSME sector. Consultants and {industry} stakeholders emphasise that this differs from the wants of bigger corporations, highlighting the need of creating sector-specific and needs-based AI options for MSMEs.
In Might 2025, NITI Aayog launched a report titled ‘Enhancing Competitiveness of MSMEs in India’, which underscored the challenges confronted by MSMEs in leveraging know-how and innovation to drive progress. The report identifies key areas of concern, together with restricted entry to formal credit score, limitations to know-how adoption, and low consciousness of presidency schemes.
Based on the NITI Aayog report, 59% of India’s MSMEs face “monetary limitations that hinder their skill to put money into AI, which embody the excessive prices of AI instruments, laptop infrastructure, and coaching.” The report additionally mentioned that 91% of India’s MSMEs felt that “AI needs to be democratically out there and reasonably priced”.
Current AI options typically don’t align with particular operational wants of MSMEs, says Anoop G Prabhu, CTO and Co-founder of Vehant Applied sciences.
MSMEs span a number of sectors, every with distinctive challenges and workflows, requiring tailor-made options, says Prabhu. “A MSME may want buyer stream analytics, whereas a producing unit could prioritise employees’ security compliance and course of monitoring. Equally, with different AI options, logistics gamers could deal with PPE detection, intrusion, fireplace & smoke detection, and cargo scanning by means of x-ray baggage scanner methods. These customised and industry-fit AI options will ship efficient outcomes throughout numerous and specialised use circumstances,” Prabhu explains.
Consultants assert that the Indian MSMEs ought to prioritise “Desi AI”—AI options made in India for India. If Indian tech firms do not deal with customisation and cost-effectiveness, a big section of MSMEs will probably stay underserved, lacking out on the chance for transformation, they add.
Equally, Manoj Dhanda, Founder and CTO of Utho Cloud, agrees that MSMEs’ means of working may be very totally different from massive firms. Most AI fashions cater to massive enterprises with intensive assets, however small companies have totally different wants, says Dhanda, including that they require AI options which can be accessible, reasonably priced, simple to implement, and tailor-made to their particular use circumstances.
“That’s why customisation turns into vital not within the AI mannequin itself however in the way it’s used. For instance, say they need to make a chatbot. Now bots work usually, however somebody nonetheless wants to coach or configure them in response to the particular enterprise stream, like what messages to ship, the best way to reply, and what sort of buyer information to select,” provides Dhanda.
Sushant Rabra, Accomplice and Head of Digital Technique at KPMG in India, emphasises that tailor-made AI options, reasonably than generic imports, are key to unlocking productiveness, competitiveness, and sustainable progress for MSMEs. This strategy can drive the following wave of innovation within the MSME sector, he provides.
“The precedence should be on scalable, plug-and-play options that minimise complexity whereas maximising enterprise worth. Delivering measurable influence by means of accessible, purpose-built AI will outline the following chapter of India’s enterprise transformation,” provides Rabra.
Kanishk Maheshwari, Co-founder & Managing Director, Primus Companions, agrees that every particular MSME sector requires a unique set of AI instruments to maximise its productiveness and effectivity. “A textile MSME would favor instruments that might assist in stock prediction, whereas a meals processing unit would most likely profit extra from instruments that assist in shelf-life monitoring. In such a state of affairs, having custom-built instruments to cater to distinctive points confronted by totally different MSMEs would assist maximise the good thing about AI for them,” provides Maheshwari.
Scaling up Desi AI options
Consultants say that to successfully scale AI within the MSME sector, options needs to be regionally developed to handle particular wants, transparently priced for higher price administration and supported by dependable on-ground service for ongoing help.
Prabhu says that the AI options will be scaled for rising MSMEs by specializing in modularity, affordability, and ease of integration. “We imagine the important thing lies in constructing AI merchandise that aren’t solely highly effective but in addition versatile and adaptable to totally different phases of a enterprise’s progress. Our good metropolis options are near-edge suitable, cost-efficient, cloud operable, and hybrid mannequin and assist cloud-based structure,” provides Prabhu.
Dhanda highlights that the largest want for AI adoption is cloud infrastructure, the spine of AI. This foundational infrastructure is essential for supporting AI options, says he. “In India, we’ve over 138 operational information centres that may deal with hundreds of GPU workloads; we are able to simply perceive how a lot information and what number of AI fashions we are able to host. So, we’ve a big information centre infrastructure, and any AI workload will be scaled very simply, whether or not it’s for MSMEs, corporates, or some other neighborhood. These days, with the sort of infrastructure we’ve, you don’t must put money into capex,” provides Dhanda.
Consultants say that scaling AI adoption amongst MSMEs requires a three-pronged strategy: co-creation of options with MSMEs to make sure alignment with their wants; public-private partnerships to construct sturdy assist infrastructure; and affordability by means of government-backed incentives.
On the event of World MSME Day on June 27, 2025, ET Digital can even open registrations for its sixth version of the ET MSME Awards 2025. The coveted award programme celebrates India’s high MSMEs for his or her achievements and contribution to the nation’s financial growth.
