Walmart International CEO Judith McKenna reaffirmed the company’s commitment to export $10 billion worth of goods out of India annually by 2027, which she claimed will boost the Make-in-India programme by creating a network of small and medium firms selling to Walmart’s worldwide clients.
“We think this will open a global opportunity for SMEs to spread the communities and accelerate India’s progress as a manufacturing destination that can export to the world,” McKenna told a CII conference Monday. “I actually love the phrase ‘Make in India for the world,” she added.
McKenna is in charge of Walmart’s global operations, including 24 international markets outside of the United States. Walmart employs over 140,000 people in India, most of whom work for its Flipkart Group subsidiary. Walmart inherited PhonePe, a digital payment company, as part of its Flipkart acquisition. According to McKenna, PhonePe processes around 20 billion UPI transactions per year. McKenna praised India’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, particularly in the digital economy.
“We have seen incredible signs of India’s enterprising spirits accelerating through Covid and I hope the way the world looks at India, they see what we see … that is extraordinary public commitment to make it a digital economy,” she said over video conferencing. “We see a nation of entrepreneurs with a spirit that is hard to match, and we see an opportunity to support and build new businesses that can realise India’s potential.”
