Economic development is characterized as a shift from low levels of productivity as in an agrarian economy that relies on subsistence farming, to higher levels of productivity as in an industrialized economy dominated by services. The pursuit of this structural transformation and service-led growth in India hinges on the adoption and use of technology as a necessary — though not sufficient — tool to help deliver services efficiently and at scale. This has created the opportunity for investors and entrepreneurs to leverage private capital to build technology-based solutions that cater to the domestic and international demand for services.
Digital platforms are one such technology-based solution. From Business Process Management and logistics, to the delivery of food and personal care at home, digital platforms are increasingly becoming the foundational architecture for the delivery of services. Digital platforms can broadly be defined as interfaces that rely on the internet to connect consumers to providers of various types of goods, services, or information, through a technology-based application.4 Many digital platforms are for-profit, internet-based companies ranging in size and business models. Usually run by entrepreneurs and managers, rely on investors that, in-turn, seek dividends.
