Flipkart and Walmart look to boost MSMEs, farmers' income in UP
Both the online retailers are likely to attend an event in Lucknow on July 28, 2019, to kickstart the second phase of projects awarded during the UP Investors' Summit last year.
Ecommerce major Flipkart, which was acquired by the US retail firm Walmart last year, is keen on collaborating with the MSMEs and local artisans in Uttar Pradesh, said Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group.
Both the online retailers are likely to attend an event in Lucknow on July 28, 2019 to kickstart the second phase of projects awarded during the UP Investors' Summit last year.
Flipkart Group CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy and Walmart India's CEO Krish Iyer are also expected to attend the event.
Kumar added:
“Flipkart is also looking to participate in the key initiatives of the Yogi Adityanath government, especially its ambitious one-district-one-product (ODOP) project, which seeks to promote traditional industries synonymous with their respective districts to spur the local economy and create jobs.”
There are products in Uttar Pradesh that are found nowhere else - like the ancient and nutritious kalanamak rice, the rare wheat-stalk craft, world-famous chikankari, zari-zardozi work on clothes, and banaras silk work.
Walmart India's main focus through its cash and carry business is to source directly from farmers and Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and local suppliers, and help small kiranas become more efficient and profitable, Kumar said.
The firm is looking to use the upcoming ceremony as a big opportunity to boost its efforts in the state.
Walmart International CEO Judith McKenna had met Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath last year and discussed the focus of Walmart and Flipkart in supporting MSMEs, small businesses, local artisans, and farmers in the state.
Last month, in a drive to empower MSMEs across the country, Flipkart revamped its seller financing program, ‘Growth Capital’. The programme is designed specifically to enable financial inclusion and independence for MSMEs who operate online.
Changes made last month will allow the platform’s 1 lakh-plus sellers to avail credit at competitive interest rates from 10 NBFCs and banks, now with an approval time of one day and with disbursal into the sellers’ bank accounts occurring within 48 hours.
