Surat: The Southern Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) jointly organised ‘Empower MSME 2026’ summit on the theme of “From Challenges to Opportunities – A Roadmap for MSMEs (West Chapter)”. After starting with the West Chapter in Surat, such summits will now be held in cities of every region.
SGCCI president Nikhil Madrasi said in his welcome address that the chamber is organizing more than 300 programs a year for knowledge enrichment. He mentioned the international connections of the chamber and cited the visit and cooperation of top leaders of Zimbabwe and Botswana to Surat.
Luthra Group Managing Director hruv Luthra said, “If you want to see the MSMEs of India, only the MSMEs of Gujarat give a preview of it. It is called the backbone of the Indian economy but is seen struggling for credit. The number of MSMEs exporting has tripled in 5 years. Where there is industry, there is light”
The special attraction of the program was the fireside chat with Chirag Nakarani, founder of ‘Rayzon Solar’, in which he presented the success story of his startup. He was joined by Prashant T.S., President and Head, Mid Corporate Group and Medium Enterprise Group, Axis Bank.
Brijesh B. Chalil, Head, Treasury Market Sales, Axis Bank, presented his perspective on the global market by weaving together the current trends.
Panel Discussions on various topics During the summit, in-depth discussions were held on four main tracks (sessions):
- Innovative Finance and Fintech: This session discussed in detail how finance, fintech and business innovations are transforming the growth of MSMEs across India. The experts were: 1. Ratul Mukhopadhyay, Executive Vice President, SEG, Axis Bank.
- Naresh Babuta, General Manager and Regional In-charge, SIDBI.
- Narendra Sharma, Director-Sales, M1Exchange.
- Indravijay Gohil, Chief Finance Officer, Online PSB Loans.
They discussed emerging digital lending models, fintech-driven credit access, supply chain financing, export-enabled platforms and smart merchant portals that simplify purchasing and payments. The interaction also highlighted policy frameworks, banking partnerships and financial technologies that help MSMEs strengthen operations, expand into new markets and build resilient, future-ready businesses. Ms. Malti, Director, PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited moderated the panel discussion.
Resilient Design and Talent: This session explored how MSMEs can strengthen people, capabilities through inclusive practices, agile organizational design, continuous skilling and modern talent acquisition strategies. The expert speakers were: Ramesh Seshadri, VP, L&T-MHI Power Boilers Pvt. Ltd. 2. Manoj Sharma, CHRO, Aarti Industries 3. Dr. Nirav Mandir, Chief Human Capital and Sustainability Officer, Shree Ramakrishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. 4. Shantanu Das, Senior VP-Human Resources, Zydus Wellness. The experts discussed practical approaches to developing multi-skilled teams, adopting affordable digital HR tools to streamline recruitment, operations and workforce development.
Automation and AI: In today’s fast-paced business environment, automation is no longer a luxury—it is a necessity, especially for MSMEs trying to do more with less. The panel discussion featured experts 1. Tulika Singh, Strategic Growth Lead, Bharat Cloud 2. Premika Chandrasekaran, Director-E-Commerce and Channel Management, Schneider Electric 3. Anuj Teli, Chief Information and Security Officer, Signet. The session was moderated by Vivek Kaushal, Associate Group Manager-AI, Tele Solutions. The experts highlighted how MSMEs can leverage AI and affordable tech tools to streamline core operations like inventory management, customer service, finance, HR and supply chain.
New Labour Code and Compliance: Sanjay Singh Gurjar, Regional PF Commissioner, Government of India, delivered the keynote address on the new Labour Code and its implementation. He particularly provided interesting insights on what MSMEs should know about the new labour codes.
Satish Anand, Consultant, Hindalco Industries Limited, presented an industry perspective highlighting on-ground implementation challenges, best practices and lessons learned from the large-scale compliance ecosystem.
