Ice cream lover Aarti Laxman Rastogi decided that not all indulgences need to be sinful and, in March 2018, she started Artinci to provide ice creams with premium, all-natural ingredients. Running a business has its own challenges and she also had to go through hardship till she joined the WhatsApp Business app. “I have a hearing disability.

WhatsApp has become a great communication enabler for me. I text my way through the planning and execution of any business day. It helps give and receive instructions in writing too, and leaves no room for misinterpretation,” said Ms Rastogi who now has a 14-member team with five outlets in Bengaluru, and two more coming soon. In addition to connecting Ms Rastogi with customers, WhatsApp Business app helped the company launch a limited edition ice creams made with jaggery. “We sold out half of this batch through WhatsApp exclusively,” she added.

Several such success stories are being written via WhatsApp in India. Many Indian entrepreneurs have built something from scratch and are seeing it thrive and expand with support from the Facebook-owned app which has 400 million users in the country. In a recent survey of Indian small businesses on WhatsApp, 77 per cent said that it helps them connect with customers - including in other cities - while 62 per cent said WhatsApp helps them increase sales and is essential for running their businesses.