Retail technology conference opens on August 25

The first edition of Converge@Walmart, a virtual event on retail technology, will open on August 25.

Register here

The two-day conference, organised by Walmart Global Tech India, will feature entrepreneurs, academia, and experts at the intersection of retail and technology—as well as the global leadership of Walmart.

The virtual conference features Doug McMillon, President and CEO of Walmart, Suresh Kumar, Executive Vice President, Global CTO and Chief Development Officer, Judith McKenna, President and CEO of Walmart International, and Hari Vasudev, Senior Vice President and Country Head of Walmart Global Tech India (WGTI).

Converge@Walmart has been curated for technology professionals, entrepreneurs, and engineering students across India with a deep interest in retail technology.

With the proliferation of smart phones, and cloud services going mainstream, retail has become a hotbed for innovations by developers and startups, notably in areas like payments, shoppers’ experience, and merchant acquisition.

Converge@Walmart seeks to be a microcosm of this shift, hastened across global markets by the pandemic.

The conference sessions will play in two tracks, featuring founders like Sameer Nigam of PhonePe, Dr Geetha Manjunath of Niramai, and Lizzie Chapman of Zest Money.

Converge@Walmart will also bring together senior leadership of fast-growing companies like Flipkart, Mfine, Myntra, and Udaan, as well as top managers of Ikea India, Softbank, and VISA.

The key highlight on Day 2 of Converge@Walmart will be the SparkTech Showcase, which has attracted more than thousand entries from engineering colleges and early-stage startups in India.

The ideas have addressed six themes: social commerce, supply chain, automation, emerging tech, and future of retail. Three startups and three engineering students will pitch their ideas during the SparkTech Showcase on August 26, culminating in a winner from each category.

Selected startups will be part of Walmart’s startup mentoring programme, and even have an opportunity to pilot the concept with WGTI. Students also have a chance to intern and work with WGTI.