SMBConnect, one of India’s premier platforms for small and medium enterprises, hosted the Coimbatore edition of its flagship Global Rise Business Conference on Wednesday.

The conference convened regional MSME leaders, industry veterans, and tech innovators to address critical levers for sustainable enterprise growth: breaking into international markets, leveraging India’s newly signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and deploying practical artificial intelligence solutions for scalable operations.
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Welcoming the gathering, Sandipan Ray, Founder of SMBConnect, underscored that sustainable enterprise growth cannot occur in isolation. Emphasizing the urgent need for a collaborative ecosystem, Ray pointed out that while India’s expanding network of FTAs unlocks substantial international trade corridors, significant informational barriers remain.
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He noted that an open trade door is ineffective without strategic readiness, highlighting that SMBConnect’s nationwide network of domain experts actively mentors businesses to understand compliance prerequisites, circumvent non-tariff barriers, and systematically capture foreign market share.

Technological transformation took center stage in the opening technical sessions. Jaivardhan, Director at Indo Texnology & Count AI, outlined actionable roadmaps for modernizing traditional operations in his session, “Reimagining Textiles through AI, Automation & Intelligent Engineering.”
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Expanding on digital disruption, Madhumitha Nemani, Senior AI Solutions Consultant at SaveX, delivered insights on how agile MSMEs can integrate practical AI tools to streamline day-to-day operations, optimize costs, and scale efficiency.c369c67b 4708 456b 825b 5a902030d679
In a masterclass titled “Mastering the Micro: How MSMEs Can Build Global Monopolies,” J.M. Balaji, Vice President and Head of Marketing at Lakshmi Ring Travellers (LRT), outlined the strategic blueprint that propelled the Coimbatore-based manufacturer into the world’s largest producer of textile ring travellers, with an annual output of 4.5 billion units.
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Balaji urged enterprises to achieve deep technical mastery and process reliability before chasing market expansion, cautioning against premature selling. Highlighting LRT’s proactive entry into China the epicenter of global spinning capacity, he asserted that domestic manufacturers must confront global competitors on their home turf rather than relying on local protectionism.
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He further emphasized that mass precision manufacturing demands strict zero-defect execution. He also noted that LRT cemented its global dominance by pairing unyielding quality control with high-conviction local representation and rapid fulfillment capabilities, routinely executing deliveries within 24 to 48 hours worldwide.
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The summit also featured an executive panel discussion titled “Engineering the Future: How Coimbatore’s Industrial MSMEs Can Build for the World.” Moderated by Shyam Sekar, Founder of Startup Xperts, the panel brought together Devakumar Nagarajan, President of the Chinnavedampatti Industrial Association (CIA); Ramenathan Alwaappan, General Manager of Marketing at Sieger Spintech; and Shanmuganathan, Partner at Excel Engineering Industries, to examine modern manufacturing hurdles and export strategies.
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Muralidharan, General Manager of Marketing at Vetal Textiles and Electronics, delivered the keynote address, providing strategic perspectives on industrial resilience. Shyam Sekar followed with an industry insights session titled “Think Big, Scale Smart: The Growth Playbook for Tomorrow’s MSMEs,” equipping attendees with actionable expansion models.