P&G India announces Rs 200 crore tech fund to help solve business challenges

FMCG major Procter & Gamble India on Tuesday announced a Rs 200 crore 'technovate fund' to help solve business challenges by fostering innovation, and leveraging innovative technology in collaboration with existing and new external suppliers.

This fund is in addition to the Rs 1,300 crore that P&G has already committed over the past four years through its initiative vGrow, the company said in a statement.

The US company's domestic arm said the fund will include solutions that will further strengthen its capabilities and drive innovation across various verticals.

These include brand building and awareness, consumer research, go-to-market, and supply chain, as well as well as key focus areas such as digital analytics, transportation and warehousing, sustainability, and the future of payments.

Through this fund, P&G aims to collaborate with external partners and innovators to help solve business challenges by leveraging innovative technology.

L V Vaidyanathan, the chief executive of the company, said that five years ago, they had launched the vGrow programme to help create a platform to foster collaboration and partnerships with external partners and suppliers and had committed to spend over Rs 1,300 crore through this platform.

He did not say how much of the amount has been invested so far.

Through this platform, P&G engages with over 2,300 suppliers including startups, small businesses, and large organizations from a wide range of industries and services.