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Retail digitisation company SnapBizz, Samhita-CGF's REVIVE Alliance, and Nielsen have come together to enable the digitisation of small kirana shops and other retailers to improve business outcomes and profitability.

The collaboration has kicked off with a pilot rollout poised for a scale up and is supported by philanthropic, development and corporate organisations, Nielsen, TRRAIN (Trust for Retailers & Retail Associates of India), the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation (MSDF), the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), British High Commission, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), said a statement.

The initiative targets small and local merchants in the lower income bracket, having a net income of Rs 20,000-25,000 a month, and aims to ease their access to working capital and supply chain challenges.

"SnapBizz, with a goal of digitising a million small merchants, will provide the digital solution for local merchants. Samhita-CGF, through the REVIVE Alliance, a blended finance platform supported by United States Agency for International Development (USAID), MSDF, Omidyar Network India, British High Commission and UNDP, will provide financial assistance, through Returnable Grants and incentives, for small kirana merchants to access the digital solution & training," it said.

Further, TRRAIN will support the initiative through self-help videos for merchants on modern retail practices. Nielsen will provide store acquisition and data evaluation support in the programme. Further, banks and SnapBizz are collaborating in the roll-out and subsidising the digital solution for the programme.

The solution will give comprehensive support to the merchants to manage their stores efficiently and effectively, help the store go online with their own storefront, give them access to suppliers of goods and working capital finance.

SnapBizz founder and CEO Prem Kumar said: "Many kiranas have gone digital in recent months and their stores have gone online by accepting online payments, ordering supplies online, managing inventory, etc. However, there are still millions of kiranas that continue to work without any digitisation or technological help which puts them at a huge disadvantage and hinders their growth tremendously."

"Our collaboration with Samhita-CGF and national banks is to ensure that every kirana has a fighting chance to face the growing world of e-commerce and online marketing. We are privileged to have partnered with these organisetions as it brings us closer to our vision of driving inclusive growth and integrating small merchants with the larger ecosystem," he said.