Walmart to train 100,000 new Indian sellers for its marketplace
Walmart Inc. is building on its outreach efforts to small-to-mid-sized businesses in India.
The discount giant’s Walmart Vriddhi program, launched in 2019, focuses on developing micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in India. The initiative features interactive online training experiences and personalized mentoring, with access to resources and experts to support growth.
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Now, Walmart is partnering with the India-based non-profit Ideas to Impact Foundation (i2i) in an effort to engage an additional 100,000 MSMEs in India in the next three years. The free program is designed to help enable more Indian MSMEs to expand their access to both national and international markets.
Since its launch in 2019, the retailer says Walmart Vriddhi has trained over 70,000 MSMEs by enabling access to digital commerce, personalized mentorship and strategic partnerships. According to Walmart, program graduates have experienced approximately 55% year-on-year growth.
"We are constantly inspired by India’s vibrant innovation ecosystem and the growth potential of its MSMEs," said Jason Fremstad, senior VP, supplier development, Walmart. "Many micro enterprises face difficulties in securing the knowledge, tools and market access they need to thrive. Empowering these entrepreneurs with critical business skills and market access has helped them to build and scale their business sustainably and contribute to India's economic growth story."
To further simplify information for entrepreneurs, the Walmart Vriddhi website now contains a consolidated resource platform for small businesses to access offerings from Walmart’s group companies and other resources.
Indian MSMEs can gain online access to onboarding links for Flipkart, a leading Indian e-commerce platform with majority Walmart ownership, as well as Flipkart’s fashion subsidiary Myntra, and Walmart’s third-party marketplace.
Participating companies can also utilize domestic payment solutions, and initiatives across the Walmart and Flipkart ecosystem tailored to support small businesses entering domestic and global e-commerce.
"Our unwavering commitment at Flipkart is to empower MSMEs by democratizing access to digital commerce and vast growth opportunities," said Rajneesh Kumar, senior VP and chief corporate affairs officer, Flipkart. "Through strategic collaborations like Walmart Vriddhi, we are collectively enabling entrepreneurs to scale their aspirations and significantly contribute to India's burgeoning digital economy."
Headquartered in Bentonville, Ark., Walmart operates approximately 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries.
