The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and Meta have teamed up to support small businesses nationwide with their ‘WhatsApp Se Wyapaar‘ program. This initiative aims to provide digital training to 10 million local traders through the WhatsApp Business App. The partnership aims to promote digitization efforts and create growth opportunities for businesses by offering hyper-local digital training in 11 Indian languages across all 29 Indian states.

CAIT, a trade association network with 80 million traders in India, is organising workshops to provide digital and skill training for businesses. The training will equip them with the necessary knowledge to digitise their storefront and create a ‘digital dukaan’ on the WhatsApp Business App. The workshops will educate them on the app’s features like Catalog, Quick Replies, and Click to WhatsApp Ads, which can help small businesses connect with customers more efficiently.
Over the years, the WhatsApp Business App has offered a way for micro and small businesses, as well as solopreneurs in India, to reach new markets, serve their customers, and establish a professional digital presence for their business. This partnership is another way to support and empower the trade community, by helping them adapt to and adopt technology to meet the changing needs of consumers and contribute to India’s socio-economic growth.

The partnership between CAIT and Meta Small Business Academy will provide access to digital skilling for 25,000 traders in the trading community. The certification from Meta Small Business Academy will be beneficial for new entrepreneurs and marketers to acquire important digital marketing skills to expand their businesses on Meta apps. The program aims to cater to MSMEs all over India, as the course and examination are available in seven languages, including English, Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Kannada, Tamil, and Telugu.
Said Praveen Khandelwal, National Secretary General of the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), “With rapidly evolving business needs, technology can be a significant enabler for growth. We believe that with the right tools to upskill themselves, traders across India can benefit from learning newer ways of growing their businesses. The reach and success that the WhatsApp Business App can offer are unparalleled. We are excited to expand our partnership with Meta on ‘WhatsApp Se Vyapaar’ program, which is designed to upskill 10 million traders across 29 states in India. This partnership will help traders and businesses build a more comprehensive customer base, scale their business, and contribute even further to India’s growing digital economy.”
Nick Clegg, President, Global Affairs, Meta said, “This is an era of entrepreneurship in India. India is experiencing a digital revolution, and the way Indian entrepreneurs and small businesses have embraced technologies like WhatsApp is a huge part of that. We want to keep helping entrepreneurs and small businesses to make the most of the opportunities ahead and continue to be at the heart of India’s Techade.”