Indian SME family businesses engaged in exports remain optimistic about growth prospects despite facing a worsening global and domestic risk environment, according to a new report released by the Centre for Family Business & Entrepreneurship (CFBE) at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai. The Indian SME Family Business Trade Confidence and Internationalisation Report, prepared in partnership with Hansa Research, surveyed 461 owner-managers, directors, CEOs and senior leaders from SME family businesses involved in international trade across 14 Indian cities. The respondents represented sectors ranging from manufacturing to trading, with firms averaging 16.4 years of export experience.
The study introduced a four-index framework to measure trade confidence, risk burden, risk trajectory and family governance tensions. While the Trade Confidence Index (TCI) stood strongly at 74.3, the Net Trade Confidence Score (NTCS) was significantly lower at 56.4, highlighting a 17.9-point gap caused by escalating risks and governance concerns. Tulsi Jayakumar, Executive Director of CFBE and Professor of Economics and Policy at SPJIMR, said the findings reflected the “lived experience” of SME exporters balancing optimism with increasing volatility and structural challenges.
The report recommended targeted policy interventions including FTA literacy programmes, export finance support for SME family businesses and institutional mechanisms to address family governance issues in internationalisation decisions. In Kolkata, the findings are significant as eastern India’s SME exporters, particularly in sectors such as textiles, engineering goods and trading, continue to expand overseas despite pressure from rising costs, credit constraints and global uncertainty. Industry observers believe stronger institutional support and export financing could help Kolkata-based SMEs sustain competitiveness in international markets.
