Panjim, Goa (India): The COVID-19 pandemic revealed a critical
vulnerability for local businesses: their lack of digital presence and
connectedness. During the pandemic, first-generation entrepreneur Surraj
Palekar witnessed the challenges of his start-up, Lucid Trails, and founded SearchKar to empower local businesses that faced even
more severe challenges. This platform connects local businesses with consumers
through a digital ecosystem exclusively for these groups.
“The pandemic was such a rough time for all businesses; it was
especially hard for small local businesses. While everyone did their best to
help, I realised these problems can be tackled effectively by increasing the
online presence of these businesses.”, shared Surraj Palekar, founder of
SearchKar. He added, “Social media platforms are already crowded with personal
profiles and entertainment pages, making it hard for these businesses to become
visible to the right audience. I realised a dedicated local market insider platform
can help with these pain points.”
A Local Market Insider
SearchKar is an online platform that aspires to be the most preferred
local market insider, uniting several local vendors and consumers. While local
vendors are visible to many online customers, consumers explore local
businesses, suppliers, products and services according to their needs and
preferences. This way, the platform has created mutual benefits for both
groups.
Creating Value For All
SearchKar differentiates itself from traditional digital platforms by
focusing on creating a dedicated ecosystem. It is an online marketing platform for local businesses, where they do not have
to compete with personal profiles, or entertainment-related digital content.
The platform's Deal Segment allows
businesses to showcase top offers to attract potential customers. The
platform’s Community Section fosters
consumer interaction to discuss queries, reviews, and other valuable insights,
creating a collaborative marketplace.
Empowering Local Economies
SearchKar's vision extends beyond simple transactions to connecting
vendors and consumers. The platform has created a trusted environment for these
groups, becoming a comprehensive consumer resource while increasing local
business traffic.
Although SearchKar is only a month old, it already has 100+ registered
businesses from Goa and many consumers. The platform aims to reach 5 Lac
consumers and 10,000+ business sign-ups in Goa by March 2025. It is working
towards an ecosystem exclusively for local businesses and consumers' needs,
with plans to expand across India.