India pushes digital commerce to boost MSMEs’ global reach
The Indian Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) recently organised a national seminar at IIT Madras in Chennai to help export-ready MSMEs leverage digital commerce to expand beyond local markets and tap wider national and international business opportunities.
The seminar was conducted through the ministry’s MSME Development and Facilitation Office (DFO), Chennai.
The seminar, titled 'From Local to Global: Enabling Export-Ready MSMEs through Digital Commerce', was held in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT Madras, the Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises said in a press release.
It brought together MSMEs, entrepreneurs, students, policymakers, financial institutions, export ecosystem stakeholders and digital commerce experts to discuss practical routes for market access.
Praveen Yadav, Additional Chief Secretary, MSME Department of Tamil Nadu, emphasised that digital commerce is changing MSMEs’ access to global markets by moving beyond geographical boundaries. He further called for stronger Centre-State convergence to build an enabling ecosystem for improving MSME competitiveness globally.
Prof Manu Santhanam, Dean, IC&SR of IIT Madras, highlighted the role of innovation and academia-industry collaboration in helping MSMEs develop new products and technologies and improve competitiveness.
Hansraj Verma, Director General, Council of State Industrial Development and Investment Corporation of India, said quality is central to competitiveness in domestic and international markets and underlined the importance of digitisation for MSMEs seeking wider reach.
Reshma Rajeevan, Deputy Director, MSME DFO Chennai, delivered the welcome remarks and set the context for the seminar, focusing on the need to support MSMEs in moving from domestic markets towards global opportunities.
The technical sessions featured experts and officials from DGFT, EXIM Bank, ECGC, IIT Madras, export and e-commerce consulting domains. They shared practical inputs on export procedures, trade finance, export risk mitigation, market identification, international payments, compliance, digital onboarding and opportunities for MSMEs to use e-commerce for global market access.
The seminar was linked to the ministry's Procurement and Marketing Support (PMS) Scheme, under which national workshops and seminars are a dedicated capacity-building component, giving MSMEs direct access to experts and practical knowledge on digital commerce and export readiness.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk
