How to Grow Your Business with MSME Global Mart?

What is MSME Global Mart?

The MSME Global Mart, powered by NSIC, provides online marketing support to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) by increasing exposure & visibility, networking buyers and suppliers on a single platform, trade leads, and keyword-based limitless Tender Alerts to furthermore help them develop their business. Running under the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, this online B2B portal provides a range of services to facilitate the growth of small business owners in India.

Startups and business ventures require extensive networking and knowledge of different company operations. MSME Global Mart provides MSMEs with knowledge on business, technology and financing as well as exhibiting key competencies of Indian SMEs on a global scale. MSMEs have played a critical role in creating job prospects in rural areas. They have aided in the development of these places at a lower capital cost than the large businesses. The MSME sector has made significant contributions to the country's socio-economic growth by serving as a vital unit to the bigger sectors.

The B2B portal of MSME Global Mart provides benefits to the small business ventures through a Membership model which can be availed from its website (www.msmemart.com). Let us dive into the background, key features and membership facilities of this B2B online portal and understand how it helps in the development of MSMEs, which have continuously proven to deliver the highest rate of growth in the economy.

Powered by NSIC

With a mission to further advance and aid the growth of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, the National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) is a certified Government of India enterprise. NSIC was established in 1955 with an aim to encourage small and aspiring entrepreneurs of post-independent India. It provides a range of specialized schemes to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in order to increase their competitiveness on a global level. It also offers comprehensive support services in Marketing, Technology, Finance, and other domains, for the MSMEs to be able to flourish in their respective industries.

MSMEs are the lifeblood of the Indian economy. According to official data as of 31st April 2022, there are currently more than 6.33 crore MSMEs in the country and every year this sector provides employment to about a 100 million individuals and has continuously proven a steady growth prospect. As a result of this, MSMEs have rounded off to become the second-largest economic sector after the agriculture sector in India. Therefore, the growth and facilitation of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is critical and very closely connected to the future growth of the Indian Economy. Here is where the NSIC, a Government of India enterprise, comes into action by fostering the growth of the MSME sector with its Business to Business (B2B) portal – MSME Global Mart.

MSMEmart Statistics

• Product/Service Categories – 87 (Agro, Electronics, Fashion, etc.)
• Sub Categories – 1,462 (Animal extracts, Cereals, Bamboo, etc. under Agro Category)
• Total Products – 86,734
• Total Registered Members – +1.89 lakhs
• Total no. of Tenders – +1,59,861

What benefits come along with the MSME Global Mart Membership?

1. A steady Digital Presence – The MSME B2B portal offers the small-scale enterprises a pre-designed platform in order to be discoverable by millions of global buyers. It incorporates ready-to-use website templates which makes the digital presence extremely convenient even for businesses with minimum technical support or awareness.
2. 24x7 showcase of Products & Services – It can be challenging for a small business venture to attract customers or generate leads. MSME Global Mart has come up with a virtual platform wherein the members can display their products and services to a global audience, 24x7.
3. Keyword-based Tender Alerts - The online portal provides unlimited keyword-based tender alerts (both nationally and globally) in its inbox aligned with the said business profile.
4. Award of Contract (AOC) – Alongside the unlimited tender alerts, MSME Global Mart also provides a detailed information on the past tenders awarded by various companies, on the portal. It can be considered crucial in order to obtain a deeper insight on the business models.
5. Country-specific Tender Notices - The most recent International Procurement notices from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank, and the International Labour Organization (ILO), among others, are available for the members to avail as a complimentary benefit from the portal.
6. Generate Trade Leads – The B2B Portal also helps the members get connected with their prospective buyers/suppliers from a pool of millions of already existing companies in the similar domain, to upscale their business.
7. Franchise, Subcontracting & Distribution Opportunities – It helps the small business ventures to grow and expand their services to a larger audience.
8. Additional Offers on MSME Business Solutions – MSMEmart members can also avail special discounts on a variety of business solutions from empanelled and expert service providers.

All these services can be availed by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, after joining the annual membership plan available on the MSME Global Mart website. Apart from the aforementioned, some of the additional features include posting Discount or bulk Offers for the buyers, Supplier or product specific inquiries, Quotation requests, Price Alerts, upcoming Events & Exhibitions, Popular Products section, multiple Languages support and most importantly the trust seal of NSIC.

Who can Join the MSME Global Mart Membership?

Emerging businesses can use MSME Global Mart to participate in public procurement with the help of tenders. This B2B portal creates a bridge between the buyers and the suppliers in order to facilitate the process of networking. Small-scale businesses with limited resources can efficiently create a virtual presence in front of a global audience with the help of pre-designed website templates available to the members on the portal. Additionally, MSME Global Mart offers various other schemes and business solutions from third party service providers.

How to avail the Membership Benefits?

MSME Global Mart's services are provided to Indian MSMEs on a yearly subscription basis. Entrepreneurs can test a full-featured membership for 30 days at zero cost so as to get acquainted with the benefits of the portal. The Membership facility can then be renewed to a Gold plan with an annual membership fee of ₹7080. MSME Global Mart also provides a subsidized Gold Membership plan for entrepreneurs belonging to the SC & ST categories. The annual membership fee for the SC & ST Gold membership plan is ₹1416 after an 80% subsidy.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, MSMEmart implemented an entirely online and paperless registration method which comes as another added benefit for the members. The services can also be accessed by downloading the MSME Global Mart App from the Google Play store, the Mobile Seva App or through the UMANG Mobile App, a digital venture of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) aimed at making government services easily accessible by the users virtually at any given point of time.

There are 3 types of Membership plans available:

• Gold Membership (one year) - ₹7080
• SC & ST Gold Membership (one year) - ₹1416
• Basic Membership (30-day free trial with limited benefits) 

Benefits to the Buyers and Suppliers on MSME Global Mart

Benefits to the Buyers:

• Post Requirements – Be it regarding a particular product or prices from multiple vendors, Buyers can post their own requirements and queries.
• Search Suppliers – Quick access to supplier details based on product description, location or ratings.
• Trade Alert Watch – Receive trade alerts based on the market trend for various products, features alert on products or on new products added.
• Request for Quotation – Buyers can also make use of the platform for asking prices from their preferred suppliers. Multiple product prices can be received directly in the member’s inbox present on the portal.
• Rating & Reviews – Access to ratings based on supplier’s past records, delivery and customer satisfaction.
• Recently added Products – Alerts based on new products that have been added as well as past product features.
• Price Alert Watch – Price alerts on specific products along with price drop alerts will be received by the buyers.
• Avail Discount & Bulk offers – Daily offers and discounts on preferred products as well as on bulk orders.

Benefits to the Suppliers:

• Visibility to Global Buyers – MSME Global Mart provides its member Suppliers an opportunity to become a part of the largest global trade community.
• Post Discount & Bulk Offers – Access to a 24x7 virtual product display along with discount percentage and bulk purchase offers in order to attract potential buyers.
• Price Check with Competitors – Suppliers can conduct market research on the basis of prices by multiple vendors on similar products.
• Post Products with Descriptions – Scope to post products with attractive descriptions and images.
• Tenders – Access to unlimited tenders categorized on the basis of categories, value and location. It can help the supplier to gain a deeper insight on multiple business ventures or competitors.
• Business Alliances – Suppliers can also offer distributorship, product franchise and sales agency for all or specific products.
• Instant Marketing with major Search Engines – Virtual presence of the business opens multiple doors on visibility of the domain/product. Business catalogues can also be shared instantly on major social media platforms.
• Business Leads – Trade leads, as per requirement, can be posted immediately to buyers or selected sectors.
• Web Catalogues – MSME Global Mart provides a self web development tool to the suppliers. A professional business profile with banner/logo can be formulated with the help of multiple themes and templates available on the portal for a web catalogue.

Why are MSMEs important for our Indian Economy?

MSMEs are widely recognized around the world as a source of economic growth and a means of fostering equitable development. They are believed to generate the highest rate of economic growth and have propelled India to new heights by requiring low investment, flexible operations, and the ability to generate appropriate indigenous technologies. As India strives to become a $5 trillion economy, the MSME ministry hopes to raise its contribution to GDP by up to 50% by 2025. Adding to that, it constitutes of about 45% of the overall Indian exports. MSMEs encourage inclusive growth by creating job possibilities, particularly for individuals from the disadvantaged sections of the society in rural areas. MSMEs foster innovation by allowing aspiring entrepreneurs to build innovative products, hence increasing business competition and fueling growth.

MSME Global Mart – A boon for Small Business Ventures

The Indian MSME sector contributes significantly but silently to the national economy and serves as a buffer against global economic shocks and adversities. As a result, it is only fitting to claim that India is propelling itself towards a strong global economy with the help of a silent revolution fuelled by MSMEs. The MSME Global Mart, powered by NSIC, acts as a business accelerator for these small-scale enterprises.

MSME Global Mart also launched Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Enabled Digital Services Facilitation, during the pandemic, to assist MSMEs in terms of technology adoption and achieving higher operational efficiencies, business digitization, and compliances through special offers and transparent and cost-effective prices on the services. The web portal is designed to be user-friendly so as to facilitate simple yet efficient business development. MSME Global Mart, with all its benefits, comes as a single-handed solution to every small venture problem.