Procter & Gamble announces ′India Growth Fund′ in line with self-reliant India vision

Procter & Gamble (P&G) on Thursday announced an "India Growth Fund" to collaborate with existing and new suppliers to build capacities.

The fund will further localise the manufacturing of finished products, procurement of raw materials and packaging materials, and adopt go-to-market innovations and technology.

According to a company statement, this is in line with the government′s vision of a self-reliant India and P&G′s commitment to drive inclusive growth in India through external partnerships. This 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 organisations offering innovative industry-leading solutions.

"P&G has been making in India for decades and we are committed to the vision of self-reliant India. 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," said Madhusudan Gopalan, CEO, P&G Indian Subcontinent.

"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 localise the manufacturing of finished products, procurement of raw materials and packaging materials, and adopt innovative solutions that enhance our go-to-market technologies, which will enable us to serve our consumers in India," he added.

"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," Gopalan added. P&G is committed to driving inclusive growth in India, said Gopalan.

"Three years ago, we launched our growth program with a vision to create an active partnership platform for suppliers across India. In the first two years, we also set-up the ′Innovation Fund′ and ′Sustainability Fund′, through which we have invested more than Rs 250 crore in forging partnerships on new-age, innovative and sustainable solutions for the business. We strongly believe that these efforts have created value for our consumers, partners, and the company," said Gopalan.

With this announcement, P&G also launched the third edition of ′P&G vGROW External Business Partner Summit,′ on October 29 and October 30, 2020, that offers a platform to existing and new suppliers to pitch their solutions to the P&Gs leadership team.

This year, in addition to localisation solutions, the summit will also focus on identifying solutions that revolutionise go-to-market capabilities, optimise inventory and expand the consumer reach of P&G brands.