The inaugural session was graced by Shri Narayan Tatu Rane, Honourable Union Minister for MSMEs, Govt. of India as the Chief Guest, with the Honourable Minister of State, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma, attending as the Guest of Honour. Among the foreign dignitaries present on the occasion were Dr Gholamhossein Hosseinina, Honourable Deputy Minister of Cooperative, Labour and Social Welfare, Iran and Dr Ali Chhegni, Ambassador of Iran.

Dr Sumit Shukla, Director General EDII, welcomed all to the summit and highlighted why MSMEs matter on a global scale for the economic development of peoples and regions. Sh. Narayan Rane stressed on the important role MSMEs are playing in the economic growth of India, while Sh. Bhanu Prasad Singh Verma spoke of the steps taken by the present government towards the development of this sector. Dr Hosseinina in his address pointed out to the similarities in the MSME story in India and Iran; Dr Chhegni referred to the historical linkages between the two civilisations in India and Iran, and how it was significant for the economic development of both nations. Dr Amit Dwivedi, Summit in Charge, laid down the plan for the interactions at the summit over the coming two days, before Smt. Mercy Epao, Joint Secretary, Ministry of MSME, Govt. of India offered the Vote of Thanks for the inaugural session.

The format of the summit consisted of an interesting mix of invited talks as well as panel discussions on wide ranging topics. The invited talks featured entrepreneurs – many of them from different parts of the globe – speaking about their individual experiences and how it helped them in their growing their respective businesses. Several of them offered their viewpoints on the experience of the MSME sector and how it could pan out going forward. Among the panel discussions, which included dignitaries, experienced practitioners as well as academics and researchers, the diverse issues covered included role of conducive policies and non-financial business development services in MSME competitiveness; MSME challenges and opportunities in the era of Covid 19 pandemic and the role of incubation/acceleration in MSME growth; how MSMEs can work in consortia to achieve sustainability; and people, planet and profit in the light of development of the MSME sector.

All the sessions were highly interactive and rich in content as the assembled audience joined in with their own myriad experiences and insights on the issues at hand. The summit was a very well managed exercise as all participants came away with a lot of food for thought for further deliberations.