Walmart doubles down on India’s small businesses with plan to train 100,000 more MSMEs by 2028

Walmart is doubling down on India’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), having already trained over 70,000 businesses under its Walmart Vriddhi programme—well ahead of its initial goal of 50,000 by 2024. Now, it aims to train another 100,000 MSMEs by 2028, as the retail giant deepens its long-term play in India’s supplier ecosystem.

The company’s larger ambition in India remains unchanged: exporting goods worth $10 billion annually. But it’s starting at the grassroots—with MSMEs.

“No business started big,” said Jason Fremstad, senior vice president of Supplier Development, Sourcing at Walmart International. “So, we want to be able to invest in the full spectrum.”

Launched in 2019, Walmart Vriddhi began as a classroom-based initiative but was quickly adapted to a digital format due to the pandemic. The platform now allows MSMEs to access training modules—basic, advanced, and cross-border trade—on Walmart’s Supplier Academy at no cost and without any obligation to work with Walmart afterwards.

The idea is simple: let MSMEs choose their own learning path, whether that’s a primer on marketing and packaging or full-fledged training on exports. Fremstad says the digital format gives small businesses the flexibility to “create your own journey.” Once MSMEs complete their training, they are offered the opportunity to sell on Flipkart, and in some cases, even on the Walmart Marketplace globally.

“Success is just the empowerment and the improvement and the opening of the market. It doesn’t have to be this grandiose story,” he added.

While Walmart is working to scale India’s e-commerce exports, the current momentum is clearly domestic. “We are seeing more domestic sales benefit from the programme right now,” Fremstad said. MSMEs that have completed the Vriddhi programme report, on average, a 55% YoY growth since joining Flipkart Marketplace.

Walmart’s engagement also goes beyond metros. With state government partnerships and MOUs in place, the company says its MSME network spans across tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and includes a diverse mix of categories—from millets and recycled textiles to pet treats and health products. Sustainability also emerged as a key theme among MSMEs showcased during the recent event, aligning with Walmart’s broader environmental goals.

One thing Walmart isn’t offering—for now—is direct funding to these MSMEs. “The funding is the programme itself,” Fremstad clarified. “We want to make sure it remains free of cost and that we can train as many MSMEs as we can.”

Even as Walmart extends the Vriddhi model to Mexico and the U.S. through programmes like Crece Con Walmart and Grow With Us, India remains the model it’s learning from. “Vriddhi is still going to be the dominant and the most successful one,” Fremstad said.

On Walmart’s long-term view of Indian MSMEs in its global strategy, Fremstad said, “It starts with MSMEs because no business starts big. If we do our job, we offer those opportunities, these MSMEs take advantage, and they grow—then they become our next export suppliers.”

With India’s MSMEs contributing an estimated 30% to the country’s GDP, Walmart’s bet is not just a business strategy—it’s a vote of confidence in India’s entrepreneurial backbone.