India represents dynamic opportunities, says Walmart CEO
India represents one of the most dynamic opportunities in global commerce, from where it has sourced goods worth USD 40 billion so far, said US-based retail giant Walmart Inc President and CEO John Furner.
Walmart, which had earlier announced to source goods from India worth up to USD 10 billion per year by 2027, is focusing on strengthening entrepreneur and supplier capabilities.
“We have already sourced more than USD 40 billion in goods from India and are focused on strengthening entrepreneur and supplier capabilities, raising compliance and quality standards, and helping scale manufacturing so more Indian businesses are ready to export,” said Walmart Inc President and CEO John Furner.
Under its Vriddhi initiative, which is designed to support MSMEs in modernising, expanding, and reaching their domestic ambitions, the company has supported the growth of over 1.15 lakh entrepreneurs.
It is helping them to raise their compliance and quality standards, and to scale manufacturing so more Indian businesses are ready to export, according to a statement issued by Walmart India.
“This work is expanding economic opportunity and connecting innovative businesses in India with customers around the world,” he said.
Walmart had in February 2024 said it has sourced goods worth over $30 billion from the Indian market in the last two decades for its global operations.
Furner, who took charge of the Bentonville-headquartered firm earlier this year in February, is on his maiden visit to India.
Earlier this year, PhonePe, a Walmart-backed fintech company, filed draft papers for its initial public offering.
Walmart, which acquired a 77 per cent stake in homegrown e-commerce company Flipkart in a USD 16 billion deal in 2018, has hosted the second edition of its Growth Summit in New Delhi.
The event convened export-ready businesses, MSMEs, digital-first brands, and supply chain partners to explore growth opportunities across domestic and international markets.
“Since the 1990s, Walmart has built deep supplier partnerships across India, helping develop long-term export capabilities and contributing to the country’s emergence as a key global manufacturing hub,” the statement said.
During the summit, Walmart and Flipkart leaders reinforced the growing role of Indian businesses in global supply chains and the importance of deepening local partnerships and capacity-building efforts.
The summit follows regional Growth Summit events in Jaipur and Coimbatore, held in collaboration with the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Government of India, and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), strengthening outreach in key MSME clusters, with more such summits in the coming year.
“With plans to support a total of 170,000 MSMEs by 2028, the program continues to strengthen the pipeline of MSMEs that have the ambition to export to new markets,” it said.
