WhatsApp Bharat Yatra: Boosting Small Businesses with On-the-Go Digital Training Across India

WhatsApp, owned by Meta, has started a unique campaign called WhatsApp Bharat Yatra to help small businesses grow using digital tools. This initiative includes a special WhatsApp-branded bus traveling across India, offering free, in-person training to small and medium businesses (SMBs).

Delhi-NCR Kickoff

The campaign began in Delhi-NCR, where the bus is visiting popular markets like Laxmi Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Nehru Place, and Safdarjung Enclave. It will also stop at key locations in Gurgaon and Noida, such as Sapphire Mall and Atta Market.

A Nationwide Tour

After Delhi-NCR, the bus will head to other cities like Agra, Lucknow, Kanpur, Indore, Ahmedabad, Surat, Nashik, and Mysore. The goal is to teach business owners how to create WhatsApp Business profiles, set up product catalogues, and use ads that directly connect customers to their WhatsApp chats for easy communication.

Hands-On Help for Entrepreneurs

Ravi Garg, Director of Business Messaging at Meta India, explained that this initiative is about empowering small businesses. “We want to provide them with the knowledge and skills they need to connect with customers and grow digitally,” he said. By offering personal training sessions and interactive demos, WhatsApp aims to make a lasting impact on the small business community in India.

New Features for Businesses

WhatsApp recently launched Meta Verified, a service that boosts business credibility. It allows businesses to send personalised messages, like appointment reminders and sales updates, to customers. They are also testing AI tools in the WhatsApp Business app to make customer interactions smoother and faster.

Supporting Small Businesses at Scale

This campaign follows earlier efforts like the WhatsApp Se Vyapaar programme, which trained 10 million traders in partnership with the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT). India, being WhatsApp’s biggest market, had 481 million downloads of the WhatsApp Business app by February 2024, according to Statista.

With the WhatsApp Bharat Yatra, the platform is taking a big step in helping India’s small businesses succeed in the digital age.