India, 13 September 2025 – Small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of global and local economies, representing 90% of businesses worldwide and generating more than 50% of global employment (World Bank). In emerging markets, SMEs contribute up to 40% of GDP, making them critical drivers of growth. Yet when it comes to business travel, they often face higher costs and greater inefficiencies than large corporates.
According to the Business Travel News 2025 SME Report, SMEs now account for the majority of corporate travel spend globally and have been identified as the most resilient and adaptable segment in business travel. Still, most SMEs lack access to enterprise-grade tools, leaving them burdened by fragmented bookings, high cancellation fees, and non-compliant vendors.
India’s business travel expenditure stood at USD 38.2 billion in 2023-24 (FICCI–GBTA Index). While larger corporates benefit from global contracts and advanced travel management systems, SMEs still rely on manual bookings across multiple portals, leading to higher costs and productivity loss.
To address this, TripGain has announced the launch of its SME Program, a travel and expense solution tailored specifically for smaller businesses. The program combines negotiated fares, GST-compliant bookings, transparent cancellation fees starting from ₹99, cashback incentives, and 24×7 human assistance, benefits that were previously out of reach for most SMEs.
“SMEs form the backbone of India’s economy, but ironically, they pay more for business travel than large corporates,” said Sudheer Reddy, Co-founder, TripGain. “Our SME Initiative is about giving small businesses the same advantages as Fortune 500 companies, without the complexity or cost.”
“For smaller companies, the hidden costs of travel are not only in higher fares but in lost productivity. Employees spend hours juggling multiple portals, chasing refunds, or struggling with out-of-policy bookings. With TripGain’s SME Initiative, from cashback on every booking to policy-driven workflows, we’re giving that time back. The goal is simple: make business travel smarter, stress-free, and aligned with how Indian SMEs actually operate.” said Ranga Prasad, Co-founder, TripGain. TripGain believes business travel efficiency will become a key enabler for the next phase of SME growth.