Gazelle

Indian Economy glossary

Also called: Gazelle company · Topic: Industrial Policy, Public Sector, MSMEs and Disinvestment · NCERT: Beyond NCERT

Meaning

A gazelle is a firm that grows very fast, by 20% or more a year for several years. Gazelles are few in number, but they create a large share of new jobs. That makes them the main job engines of an economy. Policies that help small firms grow into mid-sized ones, such as removing benefit cliffs where a firm loses support on crossing a size limit, help produce more gazelles. This also helps fill India's missing middle, the shortage of mid-sized firms.

Example

A packaged-food firm with Rs 10 crore sales grows by 25% a year for five years, to about Rs 30 crore. Its workforce grows from 50 to 150 over the same period. It is a gazelle.

Don't confuse with

  • Dwarf firms: Dwarfs stay small for years. Gazelles grow fast and scale up.
  • Unicorn: A unicorn is a private firm valued above $1 billion. A gazelle is defined by its growth rate, whatever its size or value.

Related concepts

Read more