Indian SMBs more interested in online presence: GoDaddy

New Delhi, July 31 (IANS) Compared to their global counterparts, Indian entrepreneurs and small business owners are more inclined towards building an online presence, says a survey by Internet names and registrations management major GoDaddy.

Almost one-third of the total Indian small businesses surveyed reported that they already have a website and about 19 per cent responded that they plan to build a website soon as compared to only 16 per cent of their global counterparts.

"Owing to the massive growth of digital economy in India, entrepreneurs and small business owners are showing increased optimism towards creating an online identity that can prove critical for their long-term growth and expansion," Nikhil Arora, Vice President and Managing Director, GoDaddy India, said in a statement.

The survey included over 4,500 small business owners across 10 countries including India, Australia, Canada, and the US, among others.

The survey also delves into the swirl of challenges faced by Indian small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), which require them to adapt, in order to flourish.

Over 40 per cent of the Indian small businesses surveyed cited their inability to invest sufficiently in the business as a major growth challenge.

Other external challenges included societal turbulence (35 per cent) and failure to keep up with the technological advancements (23 per cent).

Cyber-attack is another concern that 21 per cent of the Indian entrepreneurs cited as a potential challenge to their success.

Even with these challenges, small business owners in India remained optimistic, with 46 per cent reporting that they expect to grow at least 50 per cent in the next three to five years, which is 1.7 times more as compared to the global counterparts (27 per cent), the findings showed.