Despite the current global economic downturn which is having a ripple effect on Indian economy with companies announcing slowdown in hiring, salary cuts and regular news of mass layoffs, remarkably there is one corner of business which has seen exponential growth and is increasingly becoming a choice for Indian SMB’s and skilled professionals as a steady mode of revenue & earning.

LimeExchange, the online services marketplace from Lime Labs LLC U.S., providing “Global Talent on Demand”, which was globally launched in July 2008 has seen a recent upsurge in its business with more than $1 Million worth of outsourcing opportunities getting posted in the last 3 months. Business is coming primarily from U.S., Canada, Australia, Europe & even India with buyers looking for SMB’s and freelancers to help them complete their urgent business requirements.

Though LimeExchange owing to its global focus has sharply increased its user base by 300% in the last quarter and has expanded its reach to across 167 countries, India is still the top performer in terms of receiving these global opportunities with more than a 50% coming to Indian SMB’s and Freelancers.

LimeExchange SMB service providers like ‘Global Solutions’ (Bangalore), ‘Avan Software’, ‘Technovate Solutions’ (Ahmadabad) & even Individual freelancers ‘Asha Chauhan’, ‘Surajit Kayal’ (Delhi) are some of the early movers on LimeExchange who have now started benefitting further by receiving repeat business opportunities from happy global clients.

Commenting on the sharp increase in user base, Pawan Agarwal, Head India Operations said, “Traditionally, unlike U.S., India has been late in adopting the idea of freelancing or online outsourcing as a primary business avenue, but with the recent economy changes Small Medium Businesses & Professionals have started realizing the potential of this model as a steady source of business”. “It is too early to comment on whether outsourcing has taken a hit in current global economic scenario, our trends suggest that outsourcing is rather growing, since Entrepreneurs & SMB’s are now looking to control and optimize their costs even further. In current global financially challenging circumstances LimeExchange on one hand becomes an effective channel for Entrepreneurs & SMB’s looking for quick & quality options for execution at optimal costs from global providers, while on the other LimeExchange becomes a steady revenue earning channel for SMB’s vying for available outsourcing opportunities in the online services market.”, added Sorabh Jerath, VP Sales & Marketing, LimeExchange.