Walmart concluded its inaugural India Growth Summit where export-ready suppliers and entrepreneurs representing 24 states and union territories participated in pitch meetings featuring products made, grown or assembled in India. Of the suppliers that participated, more than 80 per cent received an invitation to move on to the next round. 

Invitations to advance include the opportunity to participate in a bid process and line review, an invitation to join Walmart Marketplace, or both. Walmart Marketplace is a global online marketplace reaching customers in the U.S., Canada, Mexico and Chile. Innovation entrepreneurs advancing to the next round will move on to explore pilot projects with Walmart.

To be invited to pitch, suppliers underwent a screening process to determine product export capabilities. As the list narrowed, invitations were sent out for the three-day Walmart Growth Summit where sellers and innovators met in New Delhi with more than 100 Walmart and Sam’s Club associates to determine the potential for a future partnership. 

“At Walmart, we see tremendous opportunity in India and that was seen in the quality products, sellers and innovators we met with this week. We are excited to continue serving as partners in India’s economic growth,” said Andrea Albright, executive vice president for sourcing at Walmart. “Investing in high growth markets like India, helps us strengthen our relationships with established suppliers while also developing new relationships to build long-term surety and diversity of global supply.”

Aligned with Walmart’s commitment to source $10 billion of goods from India each year by 2027, the goal of the event was to support the ‘Make in India’ initiative, accelerating exports across categories where India has expertise including food, consumables, health and wellness, general merchandise, apparel, shoes, home textiles and toys.  

Walmart has cumulatively sourced more than $30 billion in products across a range of categories. The company, in association with Flipkart, also announced this week that they reached their goal through the Walmart Vriddhi training and mentorship program to empower 50,000 MSMEs to participate in domestic and global supply chains. This week’s event follows its 2022 summit where Walmart recruited sellers for the company’s online marketplace, an effort that drew interest from more than 650 Indian MSMEs.

“Enabling MSMEs and unlocking inclusive growth while creating new jobs and empowering communities, is key to achieving India’s vision of a $5 trillion economy in the next few years. Alongside Walmart and the Walmart Vriddhi program, we are proud to support the digital transformation of MSMEs to enhance their growth journey, along with the knowledge they need to scale, uncover new business opportunities and imbibe international best practices,” said Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate affairs officer of Flipkart Group.

Walmart will host similar Growth Summits in Mexico and Chile in the coming months, culminating the company’s yearly supplier development efforts at their annual U.S. Open Call in October.   

Walmart claimed that every week, approximately 240 million customers and members visit more than 10,500 stores and numerous e-commerce websites in 19 countries. With fiscal year 2023 revenue of $611 billion, it employs approximately 2.1 million associates worldwide.