Mumbai, June 23 -- For the longest time, investing in small and medium enterprise (SME) stocks felt like checking into a hotel with no check-out desk. Buying in? Easy. Getting out? Not so much. Liquidity, or the lack of it, kept many investors circling but rarely landing in the SME space.

Many figured if they had to get stuck, it better be in a private, unlisted company. After years of being an overlooked corner of the market, SME listings are now catching eyes and stirring interest among investors.

The post-covid-19 pandemic era ushered in a new generation of investors, more risk-tolerant, less scarred by past market meltdowns. Simultaneously, regulatory tweaks made the SME space more inviting.

And nothing shows the shift better than ...