68% of MSMEs are Optimistic about Business Growth in 2022, found MSME Business Sentiment Survey by Khatabook.

According to the findings of the Khatabook's Business Sentiment Survey, during the second half of 2021, 41% of the MSME owners in India saw growth in their business while 23% experienced a decline in their business. The findings also revealed that the remaining 36% believed that their business has stayed stagnant. Furthermore, the Survey revealed that about 54% of the businesses did not face any significant issues during this period. Although, for the remaining 46%, weak demand, financial liquidity, and credit availability still posed a major challenge. The overall sentiment across industries was found to be positive with 68% of the MSMEs expecting better prospects, while only 7% expecting to see a business dip in the first half of 2022. 

The states where more businesses thrived in 2021 Q3-Q4 were Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, as per the findings, manufacturers and retailers were most impacted during this period while the wholesalers prevailed and scored the highest current Confidence Score. 

With healthcare and hygiene being a top priority since the pandemic, the businesses in the healthcare and pharma industries witnessed a surge in their profits. Similarly, financial services, marketing-related businesses, and internet services were amongst the businesses that experienced substantial growth. Businesses like education, restaurants, fashion lifestyle and stationery/xerox struggled due to the limited contact guidelines. Furthermore, the survey revealed that they expect slower progress even in the coming months.

Commenting on the key findings of the survey, Ravish Naresh, CEO and Co-founder, Khatabook, said, "We are committed to understand our merchant users better to provide them with best digital solutions to make their businesses more efficient and profitable.  Business Sentiment Survey is an effort in that direction. We plan to conduct this survey every 6 months to identify the level of confidence for business growth and understand the key challenges for the MSME ecosystem in the country. These findings help us devise a strategy to better equip our users with technological capabilities to ensure that their growth is not stinted."