Facebook-Parent Meta Sees Strong Trend In Indian Women Entrepreneurs Using Its Apps In Last 3 Years

Meta's app usage gained momentum during the pandemic and is said to continue even post-pandemic.

Meta (formerly Facebook) on Monday said that it has continued to see a strong trend towards women entrepreneurs using its apps in India over the last three years. About 73 per cent of Instagram business accounts that self-identify as a women-owned business were set up in the last three years in India, the company revealed. In addition, 53 per cent of all business pages on Facebook with female admins were also set up in the last three years in the country.

"It's heartening to see more women kickstart their entrepreneurial journeys with the help of digital technologies, and we're humbled that we play a part in this journey," Archana Vohra, Director, Small and Medium Business for Meta in India, said in a statement.

"What is great to see is that the momentum gained during the pandemic continues even post-pandemic. Our commitment remains to unlock growth for India's small businesses, and enabling women entrepreneurs is a big part of that commitment," she added.

Moreover, the tech giant said that women are also playing a critical role in supporting each other by forming communities.

On Meta, 40 per cent of Facebook groups related to entrepreneurship have been created by women in the last three years.

Women have also made strides in the tech and creative space, the company mentioned.

In India, 23 per cent of Spark AR creators publishing effects for Facebook and Instagram are women, showing a promising sign of progress.

Spark AR lets businesses create and share augmented reality experiences that reach billions of people using Facebook, Messenger and Instagram.

Meanwhile, Meta and Google have taken legal action against a ruling made by South Korea's data protection watchdog, Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC), which imposed a fine of KRW 100 billion (roughly Rs 629 crores) for the illegal collection of personal data without user consent for online advertising purposes.

This fine was the highest ever imposed for an alleged violation of personal information protection law, according to Yonhap news agency, citing industry sources. In addition to the fine, the PIPC also ordered Google and Meta to obtain user consent before gathering or using user behaviour data on websites or applications outside of their platforms and to clearly and simply inform their users.