E-commerce giants to steer growth of MSMEs, sign MoUs with state

Vijay C Roy
Tribune News Service
Mohali, December 5

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in Punjab, especially manufacturers of hosiery, hand tool makers, auto parts, apparel, sports goods and handicrafts, are all set to access domestic and global markets spread across 180-plus countries.

To enable them access to new markets, the two e-commerce giants — Amazon and Flipkart — signed MoUs with the Punjab Government to increase business and trade inclusion opportunities for MSMEs in the state during the investors’ summit.

Under the programme, Amazon India will conduct workshops to enable MSME exporters to export their products and reach out to millions of customers across 180 plus countries through the Amazon Global Selling Program.

Amazon will also deploy machine learning to assist MSMEs in getting the right products manufactured according to the demand.

The MoU will help MSMEs the state to benefit through e-commerce. As part of the MoU, Amazon will conduct trainings and on-boarding workshops at key MSME clusters in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala and Bathinda in order to help MSME exporters getting on board Amazon’s 12 international marketplaces.

Commenting on the MoU signings, Abhijit Kamra, Director Global Trade at Amazon India, said, “With the signing of this MoU with Punjab, we will continue to play an active role in helping entrepreneurs from Punjab to launch their own businesses and reach out to millions of Amazon customers worldwide.”

Punjab is home to over 1.6 lakh micro, small and medium-sized enterprises which are crucial drivers of job creation and economic growth. However, many of whom are unfamiliar with how to sell online and do not get to interact with online marketplaces to clear their doubts regularly.

Also, Flipkart today signed two MoUs with the Punjab Government to increase business and trade inclusion opportunities for MSMEs in the state. Through these MoUs, thousands of under-resourced sellers, artisans and weavers from Punjab will be onboarded to Flipkart through its ‘Samarth’ initiative. Under this programme, they will be brought into the e-commerce fold and will be provided national market access, training and support to grow their businesses.

Under the first MoU, Flipkart and the Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion will focus on showcasing the hallmark products of the state of Punjab. In addition, select local artisans and weavers in the Flipkart Samarth programme will receive a host of benefits, including incubation support.

The second MoU, directed at MSMEs, will ensure ease of onboarding, operating and scaling up for micro, small and medium enterprises in the state. To supplement this effort, Flipkart will conduct workshops in various cities of Punjab to build awareness amongst MSMEs about the benefits of e-commerce and make them cognisant with the support available to them.

Amazon India will hold workshops to enable MSME exporters to reach out to customers across 180-plus countries. It will deploy machine learning to assist MSMEs in getting products manufactured according to the demand. Workshops will be held at key MSME clusters in Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala and Bathinda.

Flipkart today signed two MoUs. Under the first MoU, Flipkart and the Punjab Bureau of Investment Promotion will focus on showcasing the hallmark products of the state of Punjab. The second MoU, directed at MSMEs, will ensure ease of onboarding, operating and scaling up for micro, small and medium enterprises in the state.