8 Foreign Business Ideas Which Are Not in India

Being a small business owner in India doesn’t tie you down to the local opportunities only; the world is your playground.

The beauty of today’s connected economy lies in the idea that you can take a successful idea from another country and make it suit your audience in its unique needs, watching it flourish here.

Think of taking a finely turned-out recipe and adding a touch of your own spice, something that is very Indian in nature, to dish out something that local tastes would resonate with, but at the same time retains its original essence.

While some business models have been hugely successful in foreign countries but not in India, the latter’s absence in that market makes it a goldmine for those ready to take the leap.

In this blog, I’ll walk you through eight business ideas from around the world that could make a difference in India.

Dockless Bike Sharing

Imagine an Indian city with that chaotic city life and traffic every day. Now, imagine offering a solution that is not only person-to-person convenient but also eco-friendly.

That is what dockless bike-sharing systems like Lime have given to cities around the world. Providing users with the ability to rent bikes through an app and dropping them off anywhere, the services have made connectivity of last miles more convenient and green.

Challenges

Infrastructure: Most of the cities lack cycling lanes and safe parking spots. Most of these spots are occupied by other modes of transportation, which can act as a deterrent in popularising dockless bike-sharing services.

Opportunities

Environmental Awareness: Rising environmental awareness and impetus given to greener modes of transport generate demand for eco-friendly transportation solutions in India.

Youth and Tech-Savvy Population: India’s young, tech-savvy population will easily embrace new, innovative solutions for app-based mobility.

Target Market: Young professionals, students, and urban commuters.

Sales Channels: Mobile apps, local business partnerships, and government channel collaboration.

Personalised Health and Wellbeing

As we step into the realm of health and wellness, increasing awareness around mental health pops up at the very forefront.

In countries like the U.S., this need has been catered to by apps such as Headspace and Calm, which provide personalized support for mental wellbeing. 

Taking into consideration the rising stress levels in India and the rapidly growing acceptance of digital health solutions, this presents a huge opportunity.

Challenges

Cultural Sensitivity: Mental health and well-being remain culturally sensitive subjects in most parts of India. Changing such perceptions and ensuring usage is difficult.

Content Localization: For the content to be effective, it needs to be not only language-localized but also has cultural relevance, which again calls for huge investments in research and development.

Access to Technology: Although there is a high smartphone penetration, access to such services in rural and semi-urban areas remains limited due to the digital divide.

Opportunities

Growing Health Consciousness: Urban Indians are slowly gaining awareness and becoming open to mental health and well-being, especially in younger age groups and professionals.

Integrate with Local Practices: Traditional Indian wellness practices like yoga and Ayurveda can find a place in such digital platforms, hence appealing to the local audience with a unique selling proposition.

Corporate Wellness Programs: More and more businesses have become very responsive to employee well-being, which has opened the door to offering such services through their corporate wellness programs.

Target Market: Urban youth, professionals, and fitness enthusiasts.

Sales Channels: Mobile apps, partnerships with wellness centers, corporate wellness programs.

eCommerce Niche Stores

An e-commerce niche store is simply an online store that focuses its sales on a particular category of products.

Think about a store that does not attempt to be everything to everybody but specializes in one product category to the point where customers can’t get enough of it. 

This is the essence of niche eCommerce stores that have taken off in places like the U.S. and Europe. They found success by zooming in on passionate customer segments who crave something special, something just for them.

In India, we have an expanding middle class who become more and more discerning shoppers. They look for quality, uniqueness, and the feeling of personal experience. And that’s where a niche eCommerce store really can make it big. 

But if you can make it work here, one needs to understand the local logistics. That itself is a challenge, more specifically in tier-2 and tier-3 cities for reaching customers.

Challenges

Logistics and Delivery: It’s rather challenging to have logistics across such a vast geography coupled with deficits in infrastructure, reaching the customers residing in rural or semi-urban areas. The establishment of timely and cost-effective delivery is the key.

Competing with Giants: It is difficult to steal market share from large e-commerce giants like Amazon and Flipkart, who have gigantic market shares and consumer trust.

Consumer Trust: Trust is a huge factor in e-commerce. With new niche stores coming up, it is tough to convince the customers that the products are of good quality and not some fake brands or knockoffs.

Opportunities

Customization and Personalization: Since niche stores are concerned with specific products, they can provide highly customized goods and services to customers, servicing specific needs which large platforms might not address.

New, Untapped Markets: Most of the niche markets remain unexplored in India. Enabling the exploitation of gaps in the market could prove to be huge potential catering to passionate, underserved communities.

Direct Engagement: Niche e-commerce can facilitate one-on-one contact with customers, in which entrepreneurs will have a better understanding of customer preferences and provide customized experiences for customers.

Target Market: People living in towns, young adults, and the fashion conscious.

Sales Channels: Social media platforms, direct-to-consumer websites, marketplaces.

Infrastructure for Electric Vehicles

Now, where the future in transport lies—electric vehicles (EVs), countries like Norway and the Netherlands sit at the forefront with their comprehensive EV infrastructure.

The move toward electrical transport is gathering impetus in India.

Those businesses working toward the creation of a robust EV infrastructure are going to position themselves as leaders in this budding industry. 

There is one massive business opportunity open here.

Challenges

High Up-Front Investment: The development of infrastructure requires huge capital investment, which may not be possible for small businessmen or startups.

Compliance with Regulations: Compliance with various standards and regulations related to electric vehicle infrastructure is cumbersome and varies from state to state.

Opportunities

Growing Market: As people are getting more and more inclined towards electric vehicles, the infrastructure will be in even greater demand, providing an advantage to those early entrants who have positioned themselves favourably with a market leading value proposition.

Early Mover Advantage: This involves setting up a charging station network early enough to be better positioned in a market niche, more so in city centers, where EVs are highly expected.

Corporate Partnerships: The companies can leverage their ties with vehicle manufacturers, real estate developers, and large enterprises for continuous user acquisition and finding growth opportunities.

Target Market: Fleet operators, urban drivers, and EV manufacturers.

Sales Channels: Car manufacturer partnerships and services offered directly to consumers.

Telemedicine and Rural Healthcare

Another sector that is waiting for innovation to happen is healthcare. 

Many in India’s vast rural population remain deprived of quality healthcare, which could be taken a step closer to them by telemedicine. 

Platforms that can offer remote consultation, diagnostics, and medicine delivery have become successful the world over and hold huge potential in India.

Challenges

Infrastructure Gaps: Inadequate internet connectivity and technological infrastructure within the rural area can seriously dent the effectiveness of telemedicine services.

Regulatory Barriers: There are considerable difficulties in the maze of regulations relevant to healthcare delivery, patient data privacy, and telemedicine.

Trust Issues: Building trust among rural populations habituated to face-to-face rather than remote consultations takes time.

Opportunities

Addressing Healthcare Access: It can fill the gap in healthcare access in remote and underserved regions, therefore being more inclusive.

Government Support: There’s huge governmental interest in the use of telemedicine as a way of improving healthcare delivery to rural areas, and possible subsidies and collaborations.

Scalability: It is comparatively easy to scale a telemedicine platform, once established, in a bid to serve a larger segment, hence offering immense growth potential.

Target Market: Rural populations, healthcare providers, and government health initiatives.

Sales Channels: Mobile apps, local health workers, and government programs.

Coworking Spaces

Coworking spaces have been a concept that has really disrupted the ecosystem for freelancers, startups, and remote workers around the world. 

Born in the United States, the model has almost covered every part of the world. 

In India, with growing startup and remote work cultures, the demand for coworking spaces is on an upward graph.

Challenges

Affordability of Real Estate: The scarcity of affordable and relevant locations for coworking places in city center locations will lower profitability.

Changing Work Trends: With the increasing trend towards remote work, there is uncertainty regarding the extent to which physical coworking spaces will be required in the future when businesses rethink their needs for office space.

Opportunities

Flexi-culture at Work: With the increasing trend of flexi-work and freelancers and startups, there is a continuous demand for coworking spaces.

Tier 2 and Tier 3 Cities: Smaller cities are yet to see an inflow of coworking spaces and represent an untapped potential for growth.

Target Market: Freelancers, startups, remote workers.

Sales Channels: Direct sales, online platforms, and partnerships with business incubators.

Esports Arena

Let us now turn to another type of arena—one in which gamers come to battle it out and the audience holds their breath in anticipation.

The esports culture of South Korea gave way to similar arenas worldwide. 

With the Indian gaming community booming, this idea may just work its magic here, too.

Challenges

High Set-up Costs: An e-sport game arena necessitates vast investment in technology, space, and related infrastructure.

Building an Audience: While the popularity of gaming grows, developing an audience devoted to live events and arenas requires significant marketing efforts that take a long time.

Opportunities

Rising Gaming Culture: Due to the growing interest in Indian gaming culture, mainly among young people, more events and places for esports are called upon.

Brand Partnerships: Sponsorships, brand partnerships, and collaborations with gaming companies can be utilized by e-sports arenas to produce even more revenue streams.

Diversified Revenue Streams: Rather than relying on ticket sales, funds can be generated from merchandising, streaming rights, and having tournaments in order to enable many diversified income streams.

Target Market: Gamers, tech enthusiasts, and youth.

Sales Channels: Event ticket sales, online streaming, sponsorships.

Virtual Call Center Business

The last business that really comes to mind, more so in today’s post-pandemic world, is virtual call centers. 

In fact, outsourcing and call centres have been established in India for quite a long time. The virtual model just simply gives them flexibility and resilience against future disruptions.

Challenges

Technology and Infrastructure: Ensuring that technology infrastructure, like internet connectivity and call-handling systems, is faultless for smooth operations.

Remote Management: Challenges exist when managing a remote workforce; from maintaining productivity to communication and keeping employees engaged.

Security Concerns: Data security and privacy are issues of major concern, more so in the case of sensitive customer information handling.

Opportunities

Cost Efficiency: Since there are no overheads involved in virtual call centers, they prove to be quite cost-effective as compared to traditional brick-and-mortar set-ups and result in increased profitability.

Scalability: Virtual call centers can also be changed easily to facilitate great flexibility within fluctuating markets.

Resilience: Since the virtual call center can work anywhere, that protects it from any type of disturbance, whether from lockdowns or natural catastrophes, ensuring a continuity of service.

Target Market: Small and medium-sized enterprises, large organizations, and customer service companies.

Sales Channels: B2B partnerships, online platforms, and outsourcing marketplaces.

Exploring foreign business ideas in India certainly opens up an avenue for Indian entrepreneurs to introduce new, innovative concepts into the local market.

Of course, any business venture has risks and rewards that go with it.

Allow yourself some time for research, finding mentors, and developing your plan. 

By doing so, you’ll be moving through such opportunities confidently, putting your business on the road to success.