Partnership with Jio to help support millions of SMBs: Mark Zuckerberg

New Delhi: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday said its partnership with Jio Platforms will help support millions of small businesses in India.

Zuckerberg made the remark during a conversation with Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries at the first Facebook Fuel for India 2020 event.

"At Facebook, we are in the business of serving small businesses. And nowhere is this more true than in India," the Facebook CEO said.

"With more than 60 million small businesses and millions of people around the country relying on them for jobs -- these small businesses form a big part of what our partnership with Jio can serve here," he said.

In April this year, Facebook announced investment of Rs 43,574 crore in Jio Platforms for a 9.99 per cent stake.

Zuckerberg said that supporting small businesses has become more important in view of the Covid-19 induced impact on the economy.

"One of the big opportunities I see with the partnership with Jio Platforms, is the role that we can play together in supporting the millions of small businesses in India - especially now with the impact that Covid is having," he said.

"It is accelerating the move for a lot of businesses from physical storefronts to digital."

Ambani said that technology will democratise wealth and value creation for individuals and small businesses in India.

"Through our partnership (Jio Platforms and Facebook), we will become a value creation platform for our customers and small businesses, giving them a chance to digitise and be at par with anybody else in the world," said the Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries.