Procter & Gamble (P&G) has announced a Rs400-crore India Growth Fund to collaborate with existing and new suppliers to build capacities that will further localise manufacturing of finished products, procurement of raw materials and packaging materials, and adopt new technologies. This is in line with the government's vision of a Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India and P&G’s commitment to drive inclusive growth in India through external partnerships.

This new fund is part of P&G India’s Vgrow programme that focuses on identifying and collaborating with start-ups, small businesses, individuals or large organisations offering innovative solutions. This year, in addition to localisation solutions, the P&G Vgrow External Business Partner Summit also focused on identifying solutions that revolutionise go-to-market capabilities, optimise inventory and expand consumer reach of P&G brands.

Madhusudan Gopalan, CEO, P&G Indian Subcontinent said: “P&G has been making in India for decades and we are committed to the vision of a self-reliant India. More than 95% of the products we sell in India are manufactured locally. We also export finished products manufactured in India to more than 120 countries.

"In line with our commitment, we are setting-up P&G’s India Growth Fund to collaborate with partners on building capacities that will further localise manufacturing of finished products, procurement of raw materials and packaging materials, and adopt innovative solutions that enhance our go-to-market technologies, which will enable us to serve our consumers in India. We are confident that through these partnerships we will be able to create an ecosystem and supplier network that will further enable us to make in India, for India and the world.”

Madhusudan further added, “P&G is committed to driving inclusive growth in India. Three years ago, we launched our Vgrow programme with a vision to create an active partnership platform for suppliers across India. In the first two years we also set-up the ‘innovation fund’ and ‘sustainability fund’ through which we have invested more than Rs250 crore in forging partnerships on innovative and sustainable solutions for the business. We strongly believe that these efforts have created value for our consumers, partners, and the company.”

Vgrow is P&G’s first-of-its-kind platform to identify and collaborate with businesses and individuals offering industry-leading solutions. Through this platform, P&G engages with over 2,300+ Indian suppliers including start-ups, small businesses and large organisations from a wide range of industries and services - from creative agencies to technology partners to material suppliers.