PUNE: The small and medium businesses (SMBs) of Pune are entering their most confident decade yet. New LinkedIn research finds that 92% of SMBs are already investing in or planning AI adoption, indicating how technology has moved from experiment to infrastructure. At the same time, around 91% of SMB decision-makers expect business growth in the next 12 months – signalling a sector rebuilding itself around smarter systems, skilled talent, and measurable digital impact.

For Pune’s SMBs, evolution is survival, not optional

Behind their confidence lies urgency. AI is no longer a buzzword, but the new baseline for growth. The research shows that 60% of SMBs prioritise adopting AI and automation for efficiency and operational efficiency, while 49% are focused on digital transformation.  

Kumaresh Pattabiraman, Country Manager, LinkedIn India, said, “Pune has been an enduring powerhouse for entrepreneurial progress, and its SMBs are carrying that legacy forward with decisive investments in AI and skilled talent. This is a city that scales with intent, choosing platforms that deliver trust, insights, and real ROI. Our focus at LinkedIn is to help accelerate this journey by offering the right network, the right clients, and the right talent, all in one place – so, every small business can operate with the confidence and capability of a large enterprise.”

AI becomes the new operating system for growth

AI has become the engine behind how SMB’s hire, market, and grow. Nearly all surveyed businesses say they use or plan to use it to automate workflows (94%), strengthen analytics and business intelligence (96%), and streamline hiring, marketing, and sales (over 90%). 

Hiring models are being rebuilt around capability, not credentials. SMBs now value digital literacy and AI fluency (67%), problem-solving (63%), and digital communication (50%). To find this talent, 63% already use AI hiring tools, citing better assessments and higher engagement.

Marketing and sales are also becoming increasingly intelligence-driven. Nearly 78% SMBs are using AI marketing tools, with 96% investing up to half their budgets in them. 78% now rely on AI in sales for sharper targeting and automated follow-ups, allowing them to operate with the sophistication of larger enterprises.

Rahul Karthikeyan, Chief Marketing Officer, Scaler, said, “Scaler’s recent campaigns have seen strong performance through precise audience targeting and data-driven optimisation. Sponsored Content, especially vertical formats, delivered a 20% higher lead-to-payment conversion than static formats on other channels. In August alone, LinkedIn generated about 70–80 new payments with a return on spend (RoS) of 2.2. We plan to further scale this high-impact channel while maintaining cost-per-sale efficiency.”

Trust is the new competitive advantage

Even as they adopt AI at speed, Pune SMBs are discerning about where they place their trust. 95% say their decisions are guided less by cost and more by credibility. Their top considerations are security and data privacy (77%), seamless integration with existing systems (84%), and clear ROI (78%). Together, these shifts signal the rise of a smarter, more resilient SMB ecosystem – one that is not just adapting to the AI era but actively shaping it.

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Building on the success of Payoneer Elevate, this event (Payoneer’s Pune Connect) is another initiative by Payoneer in India, marking a significant step towards empowering the city’s entrepreneurial community. Attendees discussed strategies for global expansion, the importance of international partnerships, overcoming cross-border payment challenges, and efficiency across borders for global teams.

Gaurav Shisodia, Vice President – India at Payoneer, commented, “SMBs have a tremendous opportunity to drive growth by tapping into global demand. At Payoneer, we have witnessed and catalyzed significant growth for service export businesses: from 2016 to December 31, 2023, growth surged by 54%, with volume and revenue achieving impressive compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 85% and 88%, respectively.

Pune is one of our priority markets in India, ranking among the top 10 cities driving the most growth for us. We are committed to providing a platform for the city’s business ecosystem through Payoneer Connect. This initiative supports businesses by facilitating learning, networking, and access to domain experts, helping them accelerate their international growth opportunities,”.

Key panels at Payoneer VIP Connect Pune included:

• “Seizing Global Growth Opportunities” – Pune-based business leaders Mohan Jambhulkar (CEO, Target AEC Global) and Pranshu Tople (Co-Founder, RigBetel Labs) explored global market opportunities, addressing the biggest challenges Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) face in international expansion and strategies for maintaining competitiveness. As entrepreneurs managing global businesses, the speakers provided practical tips on multi-entity operations, overcoming cross-border payment challenges, and how to achieve global success.
• “Addressing Data Privacy & Cybersecurity Hurdles in Global Markets” – Shivangi Nadkarni (Co-founder & CEO of Arrka) delved into the critical obstacles and technology challenges businesses commonly encounter. She provided an in-depth analysis of the current landscape of data privacy and cybersecurity, highlighting the essential strategies businesses should adopt to safeguard their operations in an increasingly interconnected world.

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PUNE: Kylas, the enterprise-grade Sales CRM for small businesses, and Interakt, an end-to-end full-stack WhatsApp Business Platform by Jio Haptik, today announced a strategic partnership aimed at empowering small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) across India. Through this partnership, Interakt and Kylas plan to combine their expertise and resources to help businesses digitally transform; amplifying their capabilities to engage more effectively and dynamically with their customers and prospects.

Kylas, built with the vision to make quality technology accessible to growing businesses, offers a suite of unlimited features and unlimited user licenses at a fixed cost for growing businesses to scale easily. Kylas also offers robust onboarding & training sessions, and weekly product webinars to help SMB owners to improve their sales process and grow their business effectively.

The world is moving into a new age of automation and data-driven enterprise with customer experience at the core of it. Today, customers want to interact with businesses the same way they interact with their friends and family, and they expect businesses to serve them on channels they are most comfortable with. Enterprises with unlimited resources have access to tools that can help them achieve this; however, smaller businesses need help to compete in the current business landscape.

The partnership will help SMBs integrate WhatsApp into their sales and marketing processes, helping them manage their sales cycle and customer interactions in a unified manner, providing a seamless experience for both their sales team and customers.

By integrating Business WhatsApp into Kylas, SMBs will be able to reach customers where they are already spending a significant amount of time and in a way that is fast, convenient, and cost-effective.

Reflecting on the partnership, Ketan Sabnis, Kylas CEO said, “Our partnership with Interakt marks another significant milestone in our journey towards empowering SMBs across India. We understand the challenges faced by SMBs in today’s competitive landscape. With this partnership, we will provide them with the right technology to help them scale their business effectively.“

Since its launch, Kylas has been the front-runner in empowering SMBs nationwide with business expertise and quality technology.

Mr. Ahshad Jussawalla, the VP & Business Head of Interakt, added, “Interakt has revolutionized the sales-support landscape by delivering an end-to-end experience to the customers on WhatsApp. Seamlessly integrated with renowned e-stores, CRMs, ad platforms, and business apps, our groundbreaking WhatsApp Business solution is the only full-stack offering for SMBs in the market today.

This partnership with Kylas is another step towards redefining industry standards and unleashing the true potential of WhatsApp for business.“

The partnership between Kylas and Interakt comes at a time when SMBs across India are increasingly looking for ways to digitize their operations and leverage technology to compete with larger businesses. Both parties have already defined a roadmap with various initiatives to help with their mission.

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