Mumbai, Oct 29 (IANS): Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) company Procter & Gamble (P&G) on Thursday announced a Rs 400 crore 'India Growth Fund' to collaborate with existing and new suppliers to build capacities that will further localize manufacturing of finished products, procurement of raw materials & packaging materials, and adopt go-to-market innovations & technology.
The latest initiative is in line with government's vision of a self-reliant India and P&G's commitment to drive inclusive growth in India through external partnerships.
The new fund is part of P&G India's 'vGROW' program that focuses on identifying and collaborating with start-ups, small businesses, individuals or large organizations offering innovative industry-leading solutions.
With this announcement, P&G also launched the third edition of 'P&G vGROW External Business Partner Summit,' on October 29-30, 2020, that offers a platform to existing and new suppliers to pitch their solutions to P&Gs leadership team.
This year, in addition to localization solutions, the summit will also focus on identifying solutions that revolutionize go-to-market capabilities, optimize inventory and expand consumer reach of P&G brands.
Madhusudan Gopalan, CEO, P&G Indian Subcontinent said, "More than 95 per cent of the products we sell in India are manufactured locally. We also export finished products manufactured in India to more than 120 countries. In line with our commitment, we are setting-up P&G's 'India Growth Fund' to collaborate with partners on building capacities that will further localize manufacturing of finished products, procurement of raw materials & packaging materials, and adopt innovative solutions that enhance our go-to-market technologies which will enable us to serve our consumers in India."
"We are confident that through these partnerships we will be able to create an eco-system and supplier network that will further enable us to make in India, for India and the world."
vGROW is P&G's platform to identify and collaborate with businesses and individuals offering industry-leading solutions. Through this platform, P&G engages with over 2,300+ Indian suppliers including start-ups, small businesses and large organizations from a wide range of industries and services - from creative agencies to technology partners to material suppliers.
To come up with innovative solutions via external business partnerships, P&G has its online platform 'P&G Hackathon' which connects external business partners with innovative solutions to the company's needs, thereby creating a collaborative ecosystem.