Primus Partners, in collaboration with the Broadband India Forum (BIF) and the Institute for Competitiveness (IFC), hosted the launch of its report “Empowering Small Businesses through Digital Advertising” in New Delhi on 12th December 2025. The event convened senior policymakers, industry leaders, platform representatives, economists and experts, MSMEs and startups to examine how digital advertising, AI-driven tools, and platform ecosystems can improve market access, visibility, and growth outcomes for small businesses. The discussions focused on adoption barriers, capability and awareness gaps, measurement and trust issues, and policy and ecosystem interventions required to enable MSMEs and startups to compete effectively in India’s digital economy.
Ms. Sunita Mohanty, Managing Director, Primus Partners, presented the key findings of the study, highlighting the rapid shift of Indian small businesses toward digital marketing. The survey showed that nearly 70 percent of SMBs already use online advertising, with another 27 percent planning adoption within the next three years. Digital advertising now accounts for almost 49 percent of India’s total ad spend, highlighting its growing importance. Notably, 57 percent of surveyed SMBs reported that their revenues had doubled or tripled after adopting digital advertising, enabled by improved targeting, analytics, and ROI measurement. At the same time, the findings pointed to persistent constraints including limited budgets, complexity of formats, and infrastructure gaps that continue to restrict scale.
Delivering the special address, Dr. Sasmit Patra, Hon’ble Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, emphasised that digital advertising policy must be anchored in five principles: Education, Engagement, Economics, protection against Exploitation, and a supportive Ecosystem for inclusive growth. He stressed the need for awareness, transparency, and safeguards to ensure MSMEs derive sustainable value from digital platforms. This was followed by the keynote address by Shri Apurva Chandra, Principal Advisor, Ministry of Defence and former Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, who highlighted how digital media, regional language advertising, AI-driven tools, and short-format content have democratised outreach for small enterprises nationwide.
This was followed by a panel discussion bringing together senior policymakers, industry leaders, and experts to examine key issues shaping digital advertising for MSMEs and startups. The panel was moderated by Ms. Sunita Mohanty, Managing Director, Primus Partners, and featured Ms. Anna Roy, Principal Economic Adviser, NITI Aayog; Ms. Ghita Harris-Newton, Senior Director, Government Affairs and Public Policy, Google; Prof. Nikhil Sud, Tech Law and Policy, Ashoka University; Mr. Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retail Association of India; Ms. Aparajita Bharti, Co-Founder, The Quantum Hub and YLAC; and Mr. Gaurav Gularia, Founder and Managing Principal, People’s Brand Lab. The discussion explored themes such as democratising reach for small businesses, enabling market expansion, strengthening AI readiness, ensuring trust and data governance, and bridging digital capability gaps through coordinated ecosystem action.
