Walmart, Flipkart sign MoU with Tamil Nadu govt to train and support local MSMEs
Walmart and Flipkart have announced an MoU with Tamil Nadu’s MSME Department to provide capacity building support to small businesses, and help them expand their domestic and export capabilities.
Walmart and have announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Tamil Nadu’s Department of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), to establish long-term cooperation for providing capacity building support to MSMEs in the state.
On the signing of the MoU, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin said, "Tamil Nadu is home to one of the largest number of MSMEs in the country that are renowned all over the world for their product quality and craftsmanship. Our MSMEs are the backbone of our economy, and their growth is key to helping us achieve our vision of making Tamil Nadu a $1 trillion economy by 2030.”
Stalin welcomed the MoU with Walmart, Flipkart and Swasti, and said it will further strengthen the MSME ecosystem and allow MSMEs to expand their businesses through access to online and offline retail.
Through the Walmart Vriddhi Supplier Development Program (Walmart Vriddhi), delivered by knowledge partner Swasti, entrepreneurs and small businesses receive training free of cost, through a blended learning approach.
The Walmart Vriddhi programme aims to directly train 50,000 MSMEs across India at no cost with the business skills necessary to succeed as suppliers to Walmart, Flipkart, and other global marketplace platforms.
Graduates of the programme are expected to play an integral role in helping Walmart triple its annual exports from India to $10 billion by 2027.
The programme will also organise training seminars and workshops to further enable growth and development of small and medium businesses in the state.
With e-institutes in Panipat and Agra, as well as a presence in other locations, the programme provides a digitally enhanced learning experience through online modules with personalised feedback and one-on-one advisory sessions. Thousands of entrepreneurs are already working through the multi-level training programme, and many are already selling on the Flipkart marketplace.
V Arun Roy IAS, Secretary, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, noted, “The Government of Tamil Nadu has undertaken various measures to facilitate a favourable ecosystem for MSMEs and enhance their ease of doing business. We are happy to collaborate on programmes like Walmart Vriddhi, and shall provide our guidance and support required to allow MSMEs to achieve greater success."
Nidhi Munjal, Vice President, International Partnership Services, Walmart, said,
“Through Walmart Vriddhi, we look forward to partnering with the Government of Tamil Nadu and supporting their efforts to build a robust MSME ecosystem, by providing potential access to online and offline markets in India and globally as well as providing local training and support, free of cost."
New employment opportunities
Jagjeet Harode, Senior Director & Head – Marketplace, Flipkart said, “Flipkart has made significant supply chain and infrastructure investments in the state of Tamil Nadu. Furthering our commitment to the state, we have recently launched a dedicated grocery fulfilment centre in Coimbatore that shall generate significant employment opportunities for the youth of the state.
He said through programmes like Walmart Vriddhi and Flipkart Samarth, "we are committed to empowering Tamil Nadu's MSMEs, artisans, and craftsmen", and will continue providing them "the ecosystem support they require to grow and benefit through wider access ecommerce marketplace operations".
Earlier this year, Flipkart under its Samarth programme also signed a MoU with Tamil Nadu MSMEs Trade and Investment Promotion Bureau to enable local artisans, weavers, craftsmen, and small industries to showcase their products from the house of Flipkart.
Edited by Teja Lele