ICICI Bank, India's second largest bank today conducted its first training workshop for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) for using the SME Toolkit effectively.  The workshop was a curtain raiser for the classroom training initiative that ICICI Bank along with Institute of Management Studies (IMS) has developed for SMEs. The SMEs will need to register themselves with IMS for complete classroom training.

The participating SMEs will be trained to use the new version of the SME Toolkit, a free online resource to help small businesses improve their management practices and to understand the business regulatory environment, launched jointly by IFC, ICICI Bank, and IBM in August 2007. ICICI Bank's focus is on localization of the SME Toolkit content and tools. The latest software version, of the SME Toolkit, Web 2.0, includes live chat, online forums, and interactive business directories that create a global community where smaller businesses can interact and collaborate. 

Speaking for this initiative, Mr.Sanjeev Mantri, General Manager, ICICI Bank, said, “The SME Toolkit provides SMEs with an ecosystem to enable them to scale up their businesses. ICICI Bank has partnered with IFC to make available this useful service to all SMEs in India. We will keep innovating on a perpetual basis to enable SMEs to avail maximum benefit from the Toolkit."

The event was marked with a presentation on 'Growth Drivers for SMEs' by ICICI Bank and on 'Internet Marketing Solutions for Emerging Corporates' made by Google, the internet partners.  The discussions ended with an interactive session where the SMEs present discussed issues pertaining to Human Resource, Accounting and Finance. ICICI Bank plans to conduct eight more such workshops in the cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Ahemdabad.

ICICI launched the India SME Toolkit site (www.india.smetoolkit.org) in August 2007.  It contains up-to-date information and tools designed to help SMEs increase productivity, efficiency, and capacity. The site also contains about 20,000 notifications, 10,000 circulars, 600 draft agreements, 3,600 business forms, and 4,500 legal queries. The Toolkit is available in online and offline modules, including the portal, CDs, mobile alerts, and training sessions. The online modules are available in English and Hindi.

Sourced From: Hanmer & Partners Communications Pvt. Ltd