Stories

The COVID-19 crisis has proven to be a test of agility for small businesses with rampant supply chain disruptions, logistical delays and jittery consumer sentiment. However, it has also changed behaviour of consumers and businesses towards digital for the better, creating borderless opportunities to find growth and success. Businesses that have combined the agility to pivot, stay nimble, be true to their purpose with the ability to anchor in global demand have been successful in sustaining through these tough times.

An example of a purpose driven business starts with the story of two entrepreneurs; Barkha Bhatnagar Das and Meghna Kishore who have always had a strong sense of purposeful living and environmental consciousness. They gave up their corporate careers to drive change in the kids apparel industry. In 2019, they co-founded Greendigo, an ethical, sustainable and organic clothing ecommerce brand for children.

Pivoting strategies

Over the years, the two have learnt to evolve with market realities to stay ahead of the curve. Their agility enabled them to modify their value proposition to cater to the current needs of consumers.

At the onset of the pandemic, they were quick to stall production of their apparel collection and utilize their resources towards introducing a line of reusable, organic cotton face masks for children and adults. At a time when there were almost no options for children’s masks across global markets, their foray into the product category was met with encouraging response.

A similar approach was taken to ensure momentum in building long-term relationship with customers. With disruption in logistics, the two kept an open line of communication going with customers to reinstate assurance of delivery despite delays.

Anchoring the company in digital to reach a wider audience

As a direct-to-consumer (D2C), ecommerce brand, Greendigo leveraged the shift to digital to its advantage. With strict lockdowns and no access to retail shops, consumers across the world turned to ordering essentials and non-essentials online. The company built on this momentum by investing in digital initiatives to reach a wider consumer base.

With schools shut down and parents juggling work from home, domestic chores and keeping their little ones occupied, Barkha and Meghna altered their social media content strategy to include more parenting hacks, easy activities to do with kids, etc. that helped strike a chord with the target audience and drive meaningful engagement.

With the help of PayPal and the ease offered in processing seamless international payments, Greendigo was further able to leverage its capabilities to open up the business to various international markets.

As a tribute to MSMEs, freelancers and women entrepreneurs, PayPal’s #CelebratingMSMEs campaign ahead of MSME Day is aimed at sharing success stories of entrepreneurs that have suffered deeply due to the pandemic but have shown resilience and agility to emerge stronger and reach newer heights.