Life at SBEL
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Years of consecutive double-digit growth
Join a growing network of India’s digitalizing small businesses—retailers, service providers, creators, and entrepreneurs—coming together to stay informed, build their digital edge, and speak up on the issues that shape their work online.
Join a growing network of India’s digitalizing small businesses—retailers, service providers, creators, and entrepreneurs—coming together to stay informed, build their digital edge, and speak up on the issues that shape their work online.
Join a growing network of India’s digitalizing small businesses—retailers, service providers, creators, and entrepreneurs—coming together to stay informed, build their digital edge, and speak up on the issues that shape their work online.
Join a growing network of India’s digitalizing small businesses—retailers, service providers, creators, and entrepreneurs—coming together to stay informed, build their digital edge, and speak up on the issues that shape their work online.
FIND ANSWERS TO YOUR QUESTIONS
The Small Business Empowerment Lab (SBEL) is a platform that supports India’s digitalizing small businesses by helping them:
- Understand how digital policies and platform practices affect their work
- Use digital tools more effectively to grow
- Join forces to speak up on shared concerns through petitions and open letters
SBEL is designed for anyone running or supporting a small business in India that operates online in any way—including:
- Local retailers
- Homegrown product brands
- Service providers
- Creators and freelancers
- Home-based sellers and solo entrepreneurs
If you rely on digital technologies to sell, connect, or promote your business, SBEL is for you.
Not at all. We exist to make policies and platform decisions easier to understand, and to help small businesses know when and how to engage.
No. Our trainings, resources, and network are free.
Collective action means bringing together the experiences and concerns of small businesses and turning them into a shared, visible voice. At SBEL, this includes:
- Signing or supporting petitions
- Contributing input that shapes open letters or joint statements
- Sharing stories or data that highlight real-world impact
We take on the responsibility of writing and submitting these letters and statements on behalf of small businesses—so they can be heard without having to carry the administrative burden.
We actively gather input, stories, and concerns from businesses across regions and sectors. Based on this, we draft petitions, open letters, and policy briefs that reflect those lived experiences—ensuring small business perspectives are represented in conversations with platforms, regulators, and the public.
No. SBEL is an independent initiative. We work in the interest of small businesses across sectors and platforms, and are not affiliated with any government body or private tech platform.
You can:
- Join the network to stay informed and connected, following which you will be able to:
- Attend training sessions to build your digital skills
- Participate in petitions and campaigns
- Share your experience to help shape conversations
Visit our Join the Network page to get started.
We actively collect input, stories, and feedback from the businesses we work with. This input shapes the petitions, statements, and policy briefs we produce—and helps ensure that decision-makers hear directly from the businesses affected by digital changes.