Delegates from 37 countries are participating in the first ever International SME Convention being held in New Delhi from 22nd to 24th April 2018. Some of the participating countries are Australia, Austria, France, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Korea, Malaysia, Morocco, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Russia, Spain, Sri Lanka, South Africa and UAE. Delegates from these countries are representing small enterprises of their countries in the sectors of agriculture, healthcare, strategic defence training, education, logistics, digital entertainment and waste management. The Convention will be also hosting over 400 entrepreneurs from India.During the 2 days’ Convention a Khadi fashion show called “Transcending Boundaries” will be held. The show is being curated by Sunil Sethi of the Fashion Design Council of India featuring Khadi designs of Rohit Bal, Anju Modi, Payal Jain and Poonam Bhagat. The Convention has a special session for women entrepreneurs where successful women business persons will discuss creating sustainable livelihoods for women entrepreneurs.
The MSME sector has emerged as a most vibrant sector in the Indian economy and has gained recognition throughout the world for doing business in areas as varied as waste management, gems and jewellery, agriculture and food processing and the automotive industry. During this Convention around 150 exhibitors from India and abroad have set up stalls showcasing their business and products. During the inaugural function 35 of India’s “Small Giants” were felicitated by the Minister. The companies felicitated are dealing with logistics, bio-technology, pharma, semi-conductors, textiles, gems and jewellery, security and chemicals.The Minister hoped that a Convention like this will act like a bridge across all sectors and will help India in making use of its demographic dividend by generating jobs for the youth of this country.The Polish delegation has the largest number of participants and is led by the Mayor of Sosnowiec, Mr. Arkadiusz Chęciński. Sosnowiec is an industrial city of Southern Poland. On this occasion, Gianfranco Terenzi, President of World Union of Small and Medium Enterprises (WUSME), Prahlad Kakkar, Chairman, India SME forum, Secretary, Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), Dr. Arun Kumar Panda, Chairman of Khadi and Village Industries Commission and Chairman of Coir Board of India were also present.