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Newly-launched social platform FINDIT hopes to drive business for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs by providing them with a space to connect with consumers within the same area.

FINDIT is a location-based app with an integrated platform for searches across local businesses, deals and classifieds.

It could prove to be an important tool for SMEs to become more discoverable and to grow their businesses by providing them with greater visibility.

FINDIT Services Sdn Bhd marketing and products head Manav Sethi says the platform is the first of its kind in Malaysia, and he is optimistic it will gain traction among small businesses.

FINDIT currently has 280,000 businesses in over 800 categories listed on the platform with over 130,000 app downloads.

“This platform enables consumers to be more aware of businesses within their area for their convenience so that they don’t have to travel far for certain products and services. And local businesses, on the other hand, are able to reach consumers that are geographically close to them. The strength of the platform is that it creates more business for SMEs and at the same time provides more options for consumers,” Sethi says.

Unlike other social media platforms, Sethi explains, FINDIT is very much targeted within a locality rather than rely on a global broadcast.

The app also has the added convenience of maps and directional tools, as well as a ratings and review function.

FINDIT is affiliated with India-based GETIT Infoservices Private Ltd, which owns a similar mobile search services provider known as AskMe. Sethi notes that AskMe has some 10 million apps download to-date, with 12,000 new paying merchants every month.

While the market in Malaysia is notably smaller, Sethi is optimistic that FINDIT’s user base will hit six million given the high mobile Internet penetration rate in Malaysia.

“Looking at the search space here, we see a lot of potential with a platform like this that brings together individual efforts through different social channels. We are also collaborating with other social platforms to add value to our proposition. We want to be a marketplace for these businesses,” he said.

Sethi is confident of growing FINDIT’s operations here which currently runs with a 25-member staff in three offices nationwide.

FINDIT wants to expand into Africa and Indonesia later this year and eventually the Philippines.

“There is a lot of groundwork before the platform can be fully functional in a new market. We have to build a relationship with the local businesses and curate a lot of data and information. But we are very keen particularly on Africa and Indonesia,” says Sethi.