DGFT inks pact with DHL to train MSMEs on e-commerce exports

To promote e-commerce exports, the commerce ministry's arm DGFT in partnership with logistics services provider DHL will conduct training sessions and workshops for MSMEs in 76 districts of the country, a statement said on Thursday.

The exercise is aimed at preparing MSMEs to tap the growing potential of increasing exports through e-commerce medium, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said in the statement.

The DGFT has been actively engaging to boost e-commerce exports from the country, leveraging its 'District as Export Hubs' initiative.

It has been collaborating with various e-commerce platforms and other service providers to conduct capacity-building and training sessions in the identified districts.

"The goal is to promote and enable micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to explore the international markets through e-commerce channels," the ministry said.

"Today DGFT partnered with DHL through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will cover 76 districts in three phases, to conduct capacity-building sessions, training, and workshops for making Indian MSMEs export-ready," it said.

During the MoU signing event, Sunil Barthwal, Commerce Secretary, pointed out the strides taken by India to create a digital infrastructure which can be leveraged to encourage MSMEs from rural India to connect to the world market.

The exercise, he hoped, would help Indian entrepreneurs bridge the gap in knowledge and enter the world of international trade.

DGFT Santosh Sarangi said that the objective of this collaboration is to introduce exporters/MSMEs to the digital commerce space so that they get an opportunity to export "Make in India" products, tap international customers and overcome the challenges related to logistics while exporting through the e-commerce route.

Aligning with the Foreign Trade Policy 2023, in the past few months, the DGFT has signed MoUs with Amazon India and Shiprocket covering 20 and 16 districts respectively.

These collaborations with e-commerce platforms and service providers have encouraged a series of outreach events by DGFT- Regional Authorities to onboard new exporters; promote first-time exporters, and handhold MSME producers to become exporters through cross-border e-commerce sales.