Walmart announced the application process would open on November 9 for the company’s first Growth Summit in India, offering export-ready suppliers, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), cross-border trade suppliers, and innovative supply chain companies an opportunity to pitch for business.

To accelerate progress towards Walmart’s commitment to triple its exports of goods from India, the Walmart Growth Summit will be held February 14-15, 2024, in New Delhi. Registration for the event is open through December 11, 2023.

The two-day event will bring together Indian companies and several dozen Walmart buyers from the United States to evaluate their products for export, with buyers offering real-time, on-the-ground deals and prospects.

Aligned with the company’s commitment to annually source $10 billion of goods from India by 2027, the goal of the event is to partner with the Make in India initiative, increasing exports across categories where India has expertise, including food, consumables, health and wellness, general merchandise, apparel, shoes, home textiles and toys. 

The event will further enhance the retail company’s efforts to support India’s ambition to develop the country’s supply chain to be a leading participant in global markets, bringing together the Walmart sourcing innovation team and India-based supply chain innovators. 

Andrea Albright, executive vice president-sourcing Walmart, said, “Walmart has long invested in India and sees tremendous opportunity in expanding exports with our existing suppliers while developing relationships with new ones. The Growth Summit will help us do just that. A purchase order from Walmart can have ripple effects in communities, often enabling suppliers to create new jobs and expand local manufacturing. We’re excited to host this event and believe it will be the first of many.”

Walmart has already exported products across a range of categories since the 1990s. It also continues progressing in growing and training MSMEs through Walmart Vriddhi, a program launched in 2019 to empower 50,000 entrepreneurs to participate in domestic and global supply chains. In 2022, it recruited sellers for items for the company’s online marketplace, an effort that drew interest from more than 650 Indian MSMEs.

A key supplier to Walmart globally, Anoop Bector, managing director of Mrs. Bector’s Food Specialities Ltd., said, “Walmart’s commitment to Indian suppliers has provided our company with resources and opportunities to showcase our products on a global scale. It has been an invaluable partner in our story of global growth through tailored training programs and expansive marketplaces.”