New Delhi [India]: Noting that the micro merchants are the heart and soul of the country and giving them an identity is important because it enables them to get loan products and financial services, Hemant Gala, CEO, PhonePe Lending Services on Wednesday said that the launch of digital-first Udyam generation through the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) will create a proof of business for small micro enterprises. Hemant Gala told ANI that sustaining the small micro enterprises is really important for a a large economy like India. "They need an identity for themselves. This initiative helps us create a proof of business for them. It gives them identity, which helps them sustain their business, avail of government schemes, get loans, and grow their business, grow more employment. We, for the last 9-10 years, have been on it, where we have gone to small towns, villages, and districts, to onboard merchants and give them digital payment QRs. So our first step was to give them a payment identity, and now we are taking this forward to give them a business identity," he said.

Hemant Gala said they have created a process wherein they digitally onboard merchants through the PhonePe Business App and give them a business certificate. "Today is a historic day for us because what we have done is the MSME ministry had created the Udyam Assist portal and this portal enabled merchants to digitally onboard themselves and create a business certificate for them. Working with SIDBI, we have created a process wherein we digitally onboard merchants through the PhonePe Business App and give them a business certificate," he said.

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‘Identity Important’

"The identity of a merchant is really important, especially for small and micro merchants. The micro merchants are the heart and soul of the country and giving them an identity is important because it enables them to get loan products, get financial services. Ministry of MSME, under the guidance of Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi, had created this facility and we are taking a step forward where we'll take this across to our 4.5 crore merchants and get them to be able to create a proof of business by onboarding them," he added. PhonePe, on Wednesday, announced the launch of digital-first Udyam generation through the Udyam Assist Platform (UAP) at an event here in the national capital, in the presence of Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi. "Providing registration facilities to enterprises through the Udyam Assist Platform is a historic step taken by the MSME Ministry and SIDBI, which will benefit many entrepreneurs. Our effort is to take forward the dreams of a self-reliant India envisioned by our Prime Minister Narendra Modi so that everyone gets employment opportunities," Minister Manjhi said in a post on X.

Speaking to ANI later, the Union Minister said, “Going ahead, more big businesses will come to support our MSMEs...If the government and the private players like PhonePe join hands, we will be able to eradicate various problems.” According to a statement from PhonePe, this launch makes PhonePe the first fintech to offer an end-to-end digital solution directly to its merchants, contrasting with the traditional Udyam certificate issuance used by most other platforms. By providing micro merchants with a formal business identity, this initiative enables Informal Micro Enterprises (IMEs) to unlock a wide range of benefits, including access to government schemes and tax benefits, the ability to open business bank accounts, and entry into the digital payments ecosystem and financial services. As part of the launch event today, Udyam Assist Certificates were issued to merchants through this new digital process.

YM Kumari, Chief General Manager, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) said, "Udyam Assist Platform has emerged as a major driver for the formalization of non-GST registered Informal Micro Enterprises. The platform enabled issue of Udyam Assist Certificates to more than 2.75 crore small businesses, over a period of more than 2 years. 

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