Ariel, Tide maker P&G deepens tie-up with small businesses, startups, others; announces Rs 400 cr fund

Credit and Finance for MSMEs: Consumer goods major Procter & Gamble (P&G) has come up with a Rs 400 crore India Growth Fund to back its existing and new suppliers including small businesses, startups, and individuals apart from large businesses. Through the fund, which was announced as part of the company’s innovation programme- vGROW, P&G would collaborate with small businesses, startups, and other suppliers to build capacities in order to further localize the manufacturing of finished products and procurement of raw materials and packaging materials. It would also help them in adopting go-to-market innovations and technology, the company said, as part of the government’s Atmanirbhar India goal.

P&G India, which was established back in 1964, has been manufacturing products for decades even as over “95 per cent of the products we sell in India are manufactured locally. We also export finished products manufactured in India to more than 120 countries,” said Madhusudan Gopalan, CEO, P&G Indian Subcontinent in a statement. The vGROW programme for its suppliers was launched three years back. The company had also announced a Rs 200-crore Environmental Sustainability Fund last year for startups, small businesses along with individuals and large firms to pitch environmentally sustainable solutions. This was in addition to another fund called Innovation Sourcing Fund that was set-up in 2018. Through the two funds, P&G India had invested over Rs 250 crore “in forging partnerships on new-age, innovative and sustainable solutions for the business,” Madhusudan added.

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Importantly, P&G has been among the large business houses and corporates in India engaging with startups and small businesses to tap into their ideas, technology, and talent to be future-ready. These corporates have partnered with startups and small businesses through multiple channels including setting up an incubator or accelerator or a venture fund or a family office or investing on a standalone basis apart from straightaway acquiring them.

Google Microsoft, Reliance, SoftBank, Times Group, Qualcomm, Intel, Naspers, Flipkart, Samsung, and many more are part of the group. P&G had in August last year tied-up with the Telangana government to collaborate with startups. It had picked three startups to “pilot innovative digitization and energy optimization solutions” at P&G’s Hyderabad plant that makes manufactures detergent brands Ariel, Tide, and baby care brand Pampers.