Vi Business, the enterprise arm of Vodafone Idea (Vi), has released the third edition of its report, Ready for Next MSME Growth Insights Study 2025, marking World MSME Day. The study provides an in-depth look at the digital transformation journey of India's micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), highlighting increasing digital maturity alongside persistent adoption challenges.
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Digital Maturity on the Rise
According to the report, released on Friday, June 27, India's national Digital Maturity Index (DMI) has seen a steady increase, moving from 56.6 in 2023 to 58.0 in 2025. However, only 12 percent of MSMEs are fully digitalised, indicating fragmented progress. While awareness and intent are rising, the pace of digital adoption continues to depend heavily on financial capacity and access to advisory support.
Vodafone Idea stated, "As India's digital economy accelerates backed by Digital India, Bharat Net and mobile broadband use, smaller businesses are exploring digital tools to enhance operational efficiency and expand their market reach."
Regionally, South India leads the digital shift with a DMI of 62.9. Telangana emerged as the top-performing state with a DMI of 71.2, followed by Kerala (63.7) and Maharashtra (59.2). The transformation of Hyderabad into a technology hub, backed by strong digital infrastructure and a vibrant startup ecosystem, has been a key driver of Telangana's lead.
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MSME Investment in Cloud and Cybersecurity
The report highlights a significant rise in investment intent across sectors. Professional Services ranked highest in digital transformation budgets, followed by Retail, Logistics, Transportation, Media and Entertainment, Manufacturing, and others. Notably, 72 percent of MSMEs plan to increase cloud spending, and 76 percent have prioritised cybersecurity in response to growing cyber threats.
Vi Business also noted encouraging trends in digital leadership. Women entrepreneurs (DMI: 57.4) are closing the digital maturity gap with their male counterparts (DMI: 57.7) and are leading cloud and security adoption in niche sectors such as education and IT. Entrepreneurs aged 40–60 have emerged as the most digitally mature group, challenging the assumption that younger founders are more tech-savvy.
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Bigger MSMEs Outpace Smaller Ones
Despite the positive trends, the study found that smaller and younger MSMEs continue to adopt digital tools cautiously due to limited financial bandwidth. In contrast, enterprises with turnovers of Rs 50–100 crore and above report significantly higher digital maturity, driven by their capacity to invest in advanced technologies such as automation and customer engagement platforms.
Commenting on the findings, Arvind Nevatia, Chief Enterprise Business Officer, Vodafone Idea, said, "MSMEs in India are clearly moving from digital curiosity to digital commitment — and that's an encouraging shift. The sharp rise in investment intent around cloud, cybersecurity, and automation shows that small businesses increasingly see technology as a growth enabler, not just a utility. Through Ready for next program, our aim is to celebrate incredible growth journeys of India’s MSMEs - from small towns to global markets, from manual processes to being digital-first enterprises."
Vodafone Idea also noted that the Ready for Next program, certified by Cyber Media Research (CMR) as India's largest digital advisory initiative for MSMEs, has reached over two lakh businesses across 15,000 pin codes and 16 sectors over the past three years.
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