Facebook now using WhatsApp to boost its ad business, attract startups, entrepreneurs

WhatsApp will provide 500 Indian startups with Facebook ad credits worth $500 (around Rs 35,840) each. It will be fair to say that Facebook is now using WhatsApp to boost its ad business with free Facebook ad credits. Indian startups can use these ad credits to promote advertisements, posts and videos on Facebook. WhatsApp currently doesn't allow ads on the messaging platform. WhatsApp will provide Facebook ad credits tp 500 DPIIT-approved startups. With this move, WhatsApp aims to help Indian entrepreneurs connect with customers and grow their businesses.

Facebook ad credits to benefit startups

With Facebook ad credits, Indian startups and entrepreneurs can create ads that invite customers to to open a chat on WhatsApp so they can deepen connections and increase sales. This will also help WhatsApp encourage enterprises to use WhatsApp Business. The announcement came after the Startup India-WhatsApp Grand Challenge under which Facebook-owned company had awarded a grant worth $50,000 (about Rs 35 lakh) each to five entrepreneurs who have developed India-specific solutions with socio-economic impact.

"Startups and small businesses are the lifeblood of Indian communities and are a powerful driver of local economies. India's entrepreneurs are at the forefront of bringing impactful social and economic change, and we at WhatsApp are committed to provide them support in achieving success," WhatsApp India Head Abhijit Bose said.

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Eligibility criteria

Startups must be at early traction or scalable stage and must be recognised by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade to be eligible to receive Facebook ad credit. Once registered, the first 500 entries will receive free Facebook ad credits worth $500, it said.

"India is at an inflection point and as the second-largest community of startups in the world, our focus has always been to support the ecosystem and promote innovative solutions to today's challenges," Deepak Bagla, chief executive officer and managing director at Invest India, said.

The Startup India portal has played a pivotal role in enabling the ecosystem to drive inclusive growth and it is constantly working to support the next generation of Indian innovators with partners like WhatsApp, he added. Five million businesses around the world, of which a million are in India, are actively using the WhatsApp Business app to connect with their customers.

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(With PTI inputs)