Procter & Gamble (P&G) India has announced a Rs 500 crore 'P&G Rural Growth Fund' to accelerate inclusive growth in the Indian rural market.
The fund will provide external partners of the company an opportunity to collaborate with P&G on business solutions customised for meeting the needs of rural consumers. This will include solutions on communication, media outreach and go-to-market solutions like tech-enabled selling, increasing distribution and last-mile delivery.
The rural market is a significant contributor to the growth of the FMCG industry. The opportunities of the rural market are unique and require solutions that are tailor-made to meet the needs and consumer habits of the rural consumer. This new fund is a part of P&G India's 'vGROW' program that focuses on identifying and collaborating with start-ups, small businesses, individuals, and large organisations offering innovative industry-leading business solutions.
Madhusudan Gopalan, CEO, P&G Indian Subcontinent said, "Rural India has a pivotal role to play in India's road to recovery from the pandemic. We have already seen the rural segment deliver a resilient performance during the last few months and will continue to be a key driver of growth for the FMCG industry.
"For P&G, accelerating our growth in the rural market is a strategic priority. With this, we set up P&G's 'Rural Growth Fund' to collaborate with external partners who understand the rural DNA and can enable us to deliver our superior products, communication, retail execution and value to our rural consumers."
"We also want to invest in empowering rural kiranas with tech-enabled solutions and best practices on inventory and store management that will help them build their businesses further. We are confident that through these partnerships we will be able to contribute towards the inclusive growth of the rural economy."
P&G launched its vGROW programme four years ago with a vision to create an active collaboration platform for external partners and suppliers across India. Over the years, the company has invested more than Rs 680 crore in business solutions through this platform.
(With inputs from IANS)
