The Silicon Review ^Asia

Mark Zuckerberg has made a deal to buy a 9.99 percent equity stake in Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance JIO for about Rs 43,574 crores. With this deal, Facebook hopes to gain traction in the small and medium business market in India along with the farming industry.

This is the largest investment for a minority stake by a technological company all around the world along with the largest FDI in the technology sector in India, according to the statement issued. The deal has valued Reliance JIO as one of the largest firms in India by market capitalization. “Our goal with this investment is to enable new opportunities for businesses of all sizes, but especially for small businesses across India and create new and exciting digital ecosystems that will empower, enrich, and uplift the lives of all 1.3 billion Indians,” Reliance JIO said.

Facebook and Reliance JIO have also made a deal to let Reliance Retail use WhatsApp as part of its New Commerce business. “Jio platforms, Reliance Retail and WhatsApp have also entered into a commercial partnership agreement to further accelerate Reliance Retail’s New Commerce business on the JioMart platform using WhatsApp and to support small businesses on WhatsApp,” the statement said. “

The companies will work closely to ensure that consumers are able to access the nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp.”