The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises organised a national seminar at IIT Madras, Chennai, to help MSMEs strengthen their export readiness and leverage digital commerce to access national and international markets.
The seminar, titled “From Local to Global: Enabling Export-Ready MSMEs through Digital Commerce,” was organised by the MSME Development and Facilitation Office, Chennai, in collaboration with the Entrepreneurship Cell of IIT Madras on August 18.
The event brought together MSMEs, entrepreneurs, students, policymakers, financial institutions, export ecosystem stakeholders and digital commerce experts to discuss practical ways of expanding market access for small businesses.
Addressing the inaugural session, Additional Chief Secretary of the MSME Department, Government of Tamil Nadu, Praveen Yadav, said digital commerce is transforming the ability of MSMEs to access global markets by overcoming geographical barriers.
He also stressed the need for stronger Centre-State coordination to create an enabling ecosystem and improve the global competitiveness of MSMEs.
Prof Manu Santhanam, Dean, IC&SR, IIT Madras, highlighted the role of innovation and academia-industry collaboration in helping MSMEs develop new products and technologies and strengthen their competitiveness.
Hansraj Verma, Director General, Council of State Industrial Development & Investment Corporation of India, underlined the importance of quality in strengthening competitiveness in both domestic and international markets. He also highlighted digitisation as an important tool for MSMEs to expand their reach.
Director and Head of MSME DFO Chennai, Dhayalan, delivered the keynote address, while Deputy Director Reshma Rajeevan delivered the welcome remarks and highlighted the need to support MSMEs in moving from domestic markets to global opportunities.
The technical sessions featured experts and officials from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), EXIM Bank, ECGC, IIT Madras and the export and e-commerce consulting sectors.
The sessions provided MSMEs with practical insights into export procedures, trade finance, export risk mitigation, market identification, international payments, compliance and digital onboarding. Experts also discussed how e-commerce can help MSMEs connect with customers in international markets.
The seminar was organised as part of the Procurement & Marketing Support (PMS) Scheme of the Ministry of MSME. National workshops and seminars are among the capacity-building interventions under the scheme, aimed at creating awareness among MSMEs about market access, packaging, import-export procedures, e-commerce platforms and other developments that can help them expand their markets.
The event also provided students and aspiring entrepreneurs an opportunity to understand emerging prospects in digital commerce, entrepreneurship and international markets.
The Ministry said the initiative reflects its continued efforts to strengthen market access, digital adoption, export preparedness and handholding support for MSMEs, contributing to the vision of taking Indian enterprises “From Local to Global.”
