Indian Government Launches B2B Digital Marketplace for SMEs

A new B2B digital marketplace has been launched for Indian businesses, a press release said Friday (May 27).

Called the Indian Business Portal, it was launched by Union Minister of State for Commerce & Industry Smt. Anupriya Patel. The portal is a product of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) along with GlobalLinker, the release said.

The portal’s intent is to empower small- to midsize enterprise (SME) exporters, artisans and farmers to find new markets and grow their sales.

The release notes that the reason the portal was made is because the pandemic fostered a new dependence on eCommerce to help people and businesses sustain themselves.

“Indian Business Portal addresses a number of elements which are part of the vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister and a commitment of this government, like digitizing exporters, supporting MSME and encouraging greater exports of products Made in India,” Patel said. “It is witnessed during the pandemic, that online platforms such as eCommerce have shown immense potential in supporting millions of businesses to sustain themselves.”

Patel said the business portal should help more startups, artisans, farmers and other smaller operations pursue exports.

The release goes on to say that the portal’s objectives include promoting exports from all Indian states and encouraging virtual meetings between buyers and sellers.

See also: CoutLoot Debuts Wholesale Platform for Indian SMBs

The Indian B2B field has seen other such innovations, such as social commerce platform CoutLoot’s new wholesale platform for smaller businesses.

The platform will allow the sourcing of fast-moving products directly from manufacturers, cutting down on the need for middlemen.

CoutLoot has helped several businesses expand their work, particularly those which are not located in the metro cities.

The SaaS platform can be integrated with other platforms, short video apps and logistics platforms to help with supply chain issues.