Walmart goes hyper-local in India, targets 1 lakh MSME additions under Vriddhi programme

US retail giant Walmart, as part of the Walmart Vriddhi MSME Summit 2025 in Delhi, announced its commitment to “empower” at least 1 lakh micro, small and medium enterprises in the country in the coming three years.

“We have partnered with Ideas to Impact Foundation to empower an additional 1 lakh MSMEs over the next three years,” said Jason Fremstad, Walmart’s Senior Vice President of Supplier Development - Sourcing, at the event, in the presence of Union Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Shobha Karandlaje.

Walmart in India is enhanced with Flipkart’s e-commerce network, and the Vriddhi programme, this time, is supported by the NGO Ideas to Impact (i2i) Foundation.

The Vriddhi programme, which was launched in 2019, was Walmart’s way of entering the local supply chain in India through upskilling MSME owners and stakeholders—training more than 70,000 MSMEs in digital commerce and strategic partnerships. Now, they also look to bring these MSME offerings to the global market.

“By using digital tools to train MSMEs in crucial aspects of business management such as finance, marketing, workforce management, and environmental sustainability, the program empowers entrepreneurs to establish successful and sustainable business models,” the company elaborated about Walmart Vriddhi, claiming that graduates of the programme saw around 55 per cent year-on-year growth.

“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,” reasoned Fremstad.

With Vriddhi, the retail giant looks to bring cross-border trade access to Indian MSMEs through the Walmart Marketplace, giving them the tools to “integrate into supply chains, including those of Flipkart Marketplace, Walmart Marketplace, or any other online platforms.”

Flipkart Group’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and SVP Rajneesh Kumar stressed the democratising MSME access to digital commerce. “Through strategic collaborations like Walmart Vriddhi, we are collectively enabling entrepreneurs to scale their aspirations and significantly contribute to India’s burgeoning digital economy,” he added.

Walmart Vriddhi programme has already seen major Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signings, including the one with the Haryana state government for onboarding MSMEs. The Vriddhi initiative in India also led to the multinational retail corporation launching similar programmes across the world, including ‘Crece con Walmart’ in Mexico and ‘Grow with US ‘in the US.

Business