Ahmedabad: To promote Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state, the Gujarat government is planning to launch an e-commerce platform enabling them to buy and sell products online.

The state government has already started developing the platform, called MSME Exchange, apart from creating a huge database of MSME units and their products which can be marketed on the platform.

“The state government has given great importance to the development of the MSME sector in the state. However, the key issue faced by MSMEs is non-availability of the required market support. During the MSME seminar at the recent Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit and pre-budget consultations with industry players, it was felt that a dedicated e-commerce platform was needed, which could act as an online exchange for MSMEs to buy and sell their products,” said Mamta Verma, Industries Commissioner, Government of Gujarat.

“A large number of MSMEs are registered with us. We will encourage these units to also register on the platform to market their products. The government may go for developing sector-specific platforms as well,” she added.

According to data available with the state’s industries commissionerate, Gujarat has 2.61 lakh registered MSMEs and 3.12 lakh small scale industries (SSI). The state government has also focused on this segment in its policies.

At the recently concluded Vibrant Summit, MSMEs signed 25,578 memorandums of understanding (MoUs) the most in all categories. The government has also laid special emphasis on MSMEs in its polices, such as the recently announced defence and aerospace policy.

“The initiative of the state government is appreciable. MSMEs in clothing, textile, apparels and other consumer goods will benefit from this. However, there will not be much help to those in engineering, chemicals and ancillary sectors,” said Shailesh Patwari, Senior Vice President of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

Source: Times of India