Emerging SMEs: Kolkata 2008 - Executive Summary

Emerging SMEs: Hyderabad 2008

Food Processing Engineering IT & ITeS-BPO Textile
PREFACE \| FOREWORD \| EXECUTIVE SUMMARY\| METHODOLOGY\|CLUSTER OVERVIEW \| COMPANY LISTING\|LAUNCH EVENT\|EDITORIAL TEAM\| SPONSORS

Dun & Bradstreet India (D&B India), continuing its commitment towards supporting the development of small and medium enterprises, has launched the inaugural edition of Emerging SMEs: Kolkata 2008. The publication is the sixth in the cluster series, dedicated exclusively to SMEs across the country. The publication seeks to profile emerging SMEs in the Kolkata cluster and attempts to provide a platform for them to showcase their achievements.

Over the last few decades, Kolkata has proved to be an attractive destination for setting up SMEs. Emerging SMEs: Kolkata 2008 focuses on SMEs whose manufacturing units are situated in Kolkata and nearby areas. The publication covers four prominent sectors in terms of number of units and employment –Engineering, Food Processing, IT & ITeS-BPO and Textiles.

For the purpose of inclusion in the publication, over 4,500 companies were contacted and screened on the basis of turnover, investment and employee size. The end result is a repository of authenticated information on SMEs. A total of 342 companies have been covered and profiled in the publication. Of these, 164 are in the engineering sector, 29 in food processing, 52 in IT & ITeS-BPO and 97 in the textile sector. It also includes cluster insights, which have been gleaned from a survey of the profiled SMEs, pertaining to their structure, activities and the cluster related benefits and hindrances.

Some of the key findings include:

In terms of product-wise offering, 67% of the profiled engineering companies deal in light engineering; in food processing and in textiles 46% of the companies were involved in manufacturing of cotton fabrics.
Export continues to be an attractive option for the Kolkata SMEs operating in these four sectors; 56% of engineering companies, 55% of food processing, 50% of the IT & ITeS-BPO players and 65% of textile companies exporting their products in the international market.
Growth-wise, the profiled companies operating in the four sectors, viz. engineering, food processing, IT & ITeS-BPO and textiles, achieved an average annual growth of about 29%, 24%, 41% and 27% respectively in last two years.
The profiled companies expect to achieve an annual average growth of 38%, 33%, 57% and 35% respectively in the coming two years.
Expanding installed capacity and entering new markets are the future growth plans echoed by the profiled companies.

With the SME segment poised to play an important role in the growing economy, D&B India is confident that Emerging SMEs: Kolkata 2008 will provide the right platform for SMEs to tap global opportunities and tackle emerging business challenges.

Kaushal Sampat
Chief Operating Officer
Dun & Bradstreet India