Kolkata businesses are set to gain from a new AI-driven initiative announced by Meta, the Ministry of MSME and the India SME Forum. The upcoming WhatsApp-based chatbot — powered by Meta’s Llama model will provide personalised digital assistance to small enterprises, offering support on compliance, loans, government schemes, marketing tools and technology adoption.
With thousands of MSMEs operating across Kolkata’s industrial clusters, retail markets and service sectors, the chatbot is expected to simplify day-to-day decision-making and reduce the barriers to digital transformation. Its availability in multiple Indian languages and voice-enabled interface aims to reach diverse entrepreneurs, including first-time digital users.
The India SME Forum also marked one year of its DigiShaastra programme, reporting outreach to over 476,000 entrepreneurs nationwide. Senior ministry officials said the next phase of growth will come from making digital tools more accessible, highlighting upcoming AI-driven services, GST 2.0 infrastructure and simplified compliance systems. WhatsApp’s leadership emphasised that small businesses can “supercharge India’s digital economy” if empowered with the right tools, while the India SME Forum described the chatbot as a major milestone in improving access to finance, digital onboarding and new market opportunities for MSMEs.