New Delhi, Jan 4 (KNN) Google CEO Sundar Pichai today announced the ‘Digital Unlocked’ initiative in India which aims at bringing the small businesses (SMBs) of the country online and help them grow their businesses digitally.

The programme has been launched in collaboration with the Information Technology (IT) Ministry of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).

According to Google, the Digital Unlocked program is an initiative to help small businesses and startups to grow their businesses digitally.

It also came up with the objective to offer opportunities for SMBs in India to attend courses, which are being offered by FICCI and will be certified from Google and the Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

For registration SMBs would need to visit the Digital Unlocked website. Google had a workshop going on for businesses at the event itself and plans to certify 100 businesses by end of the day.

It has also planned 5000 workshops in 40 cities across India. There will be an app as well, called Primer, available on iOS and Android in Hindi and English. The free app works offline and will allow business owners to try out advanced and basic courses for going digital on the go.

Addressing the gathering, Google CEO said the content of Digital Unlocked contains basic and beyond, to help its students build a foundation of digital skills to grow their businesses.

Under various topics offered in the Digital Unlocked program, a user can set their goals according to what’s right for them whether they want to sell online, or they want to increase their online reach on social media, or simply get their work noticed.

He said that the skill needed to use the digital technology is lacking, which one of the barrier towards the digital economy. Google’s digital skills training program is aimed to address these issues.

“The Internet and digital technology will be an engine of growth for the Indian economy. Today, anyone can become an entrepreneur, a developer, or a creator, but it is important that they have the right tools and skills to digitize. We believe it is important for us to invest in training and equipping these individuals and small businesses to accelerate their journey of growth,” Sundar Pichai said.

He said contribution of SMEs to India’s GDP can grow by 10 per cent based on KPMG-Google study. He added that Google is committed to bringing every single business online in India.

Google CEO has hosted a technology event on Wednesday here, focusing mainly on SMEs. The event was attended by IT minister Ravi Shankar Prasad along with many senior executives from Google.