Patel says portal will encourage Start-ups, SMEs, Artisans-Farmers and Service providers to export
Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel has launched the ‘Indian Business Portal’, a B2B digital marketplace to empower Strtup-ups, SME exporters, artisans and farmers to identify new markets for their products and grow their sales globally.
The Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO), in partnership with GlobalLinker, has designed and developed the portal, an International Trade Hub for Indian Exporters and Foreign Buyers.
Launching the portal on 27 May 2022, Patel said, “Indian Business Portal addresses a number of elements which are part of a commitment of this government like digitizing exporters, supporting MSME and encouraging greater exports of products Made in India.”
She pointed out that during the pandemic, online platforms such as e-commerce have shown immense potential in supporting millions of businesses to sustain themselves.
Lauding the initiative of FIEO, Patel said that the portal will be a big encouragement to Indian Start-ups, SMEs, Artisans and Farmers (GI Products), as well as Service providers to take their first step toward the exports.
Santosh Kumar Sarangi, Director General of Foreign Trade, added that tech-enabled governance will play a key role in determining India’s growth and competitiveness.
“The government is focused on paperless, automated processing systems, simple procedures for trade players, online data exchange between departments, digital payments and acknowledgements,” said Sarangi.
Lauding the efforts of FIEO, he said that Progress in technology helps develop the economy and strengthen Indian firms in the competitive global market.
FIEO President Dr. A Sakthivel added, “FIEO could do much more for the exporters and help boost India’s export opportunities through a digital platform solution.
“Our SMEs are blessed with vast skills, unique product portfolios and diversity.”
FIEO Direcor General and CEO Dr. Ajay Sahai elaborated on FIEO’s vision, saying it is to focus on innovation to provide new and value-added services to exporters.
“Over a period of time, we will seek to build trade corridors with a number of countries for small businesses to trade efficiently through this partnership. The platform will facilitate the enhancement of India’s trade linkages for the international markets,” he underlined.
The portal has a diverse product mix such as Consumer & Lifestyle Products, Industrial Products, Business Services and Geographical Indication (GI) products.
It holds special value for artisans and farmers’ products dealing in Indian GI and handicraft products. India has about 370 GI-certified products across various categories, he added.
GlobalLinker Co-founder and CEO Sameer Vakil noted, “FIEO is helping businesses navigate international market opportunities through its wide range of progressive initiatives.
“FIEO’s domain expertise, combined with its partnership with GlobalLinker, has led to the creation of the Indian Business Portal, where businesses ranging from artisans to women entrepreneurs and from farmers producing GI products to leading star export houses can create digital catalogues for the world to discover.”
Meanwhile, the FIEO GlobalLinker platform has 14,000+ registered SMEs, out of those 2,000+ have already joined the portal with over 40,000+ products and services listed.
FIEO will promote the marketplace worldwide to help Indian exporters, SMEs, artisans promote their products and services globally.
The portal has buyer and seller meetings, option for overseas consumers to directly buy from artisans and exporters who offer smaller quantities of their products.
A special focus has been dedicated to empowering Indian artisans, farmers, and producers dealing in over 370 Indian Geographical Indication (GI) Categories by helping them digitize their catalogues and showcase their unique offerings globally through Indian Business Portal. fiinews.com
