CII Market Facilitation Services: Building Business Access to Domestic and Global Opportunities

CII Market Facilitation Services: Building Business Access to Domestic and Global Opportunities

Access to the right markets is fundamental to business growth. Yet, for many Indian enterprises, especially small and mid-sized firms, navigating new sectors, geographies, or regulatory environments is still a challenge. To bridge this gap, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) offers Market Facilitation Services that help companies identify opportunities, access new  markets and participate in growth sectors across India and globally.

Facilitating Business Linkages Through Structured Platforms

Given CII’s strong background and extensive engagement with industry, a strategic decision was taken to launch CII Market Facilitation Services (MFS) division, for undertaking bespoke services pertaining to company- and product-specific trade and investment advisory, research and facilitation, in both domestic and global markets. This initiative is in keeping with CII’s constant efforts to reorient services to keep pace with the changing paradigms in the global trade and investment ecosystem by leveraging CII’s long-standing alliances and extensive networks with global and domestic stakeholders including governments, businesses, associations and industry representatives.

The services include:

• Assessment of Export Markets
 Incisive insights on the export potential of identified products at the 6-digit HS code level
• Market & Sectoral Analysis
Customised market research on countries and sectors to help companies assess new geographies and market segments.
• Market Entry Advisory (Outbound)
Global market intelligence is offered to Indian companies to facilitate their trade, investment and business establishment/expansion plans.
• Market Entry Advisory (Inbound)
India-specific trade and market intelligence is provided to foreign companies to enable their foray in Indian market.
• Cost of Doing Business (CoDB) Analysis
This service focuses on evaluating the operating costs of an enterprise by drilling down into its various components and benchmarking these costs at a national, sectoral and peer level, thereby enabling companies to enhance the competitiveness of their operational spending in the manufacture/export of a product or provision of a service.

CII MFS offers services that are country- and sector-agnostic, supporting industry verticals ranging from manufacturing and agri-processing to healthcare, pharmaceuticals and engineering and capital goods.

Addressing Key Challenges in Market Access

For Indian businesses, access to new markets is often hindered by a lack of information, limited contact networks, and administrative bottlenecks. This is particularly true for firms aiming to diversify exports, tap into government procurement, or expand into Tier-II and Tier-III domestic markets.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, India’s trade facilitation efforts have improved significantly in recent years, with streamlined digital platforms and logistics systems reducing export timelines and transaction costs. However, for these gains to translate into increased participation from Indian firms, especially MSMEs, industry-level handholding and matchmaking remain essential.

CII’s facilitation role directly complements these national efforts. By working closely with businesses and government agencies and laying special focus on promotion of MSMEs, CII helps navigate procedural complexity, aligns firms with policy priorities, and ensures more inclusive access to market intelligence.

Enabling MSME Participation and Export Readiness

The CII MFS MSME Export Helpdesk equips MSMEs with data-driven insights and customised support to enhance their success in global markets. This query and credit-based subscription platform ensures timely resolution of export-related queries while facilitating buyer connections to help enterprises navigate international markets effectively.

Key Services

• Export Potential Analysis:Evaluate HS6 product competitiveness
• Top Export Markets Identification:Insights on tariffs, import values and market demand in top three global markets
• Import Trends:10-year data on import values and volumes of the selected HS6 product for top three global markets
• Shipment Analysis:Detailed cost breakdowns, port details, shipment timelines and CO2 emissions for the selected HS6 product for three global markets
• Trade Fair Guidance:Information on sector-specific exhibitions in three target countries
• Export Documentation:List of documentation required for exports
• Buyer Contacts:Monthly provision of 15 potential buyers/customers

Conclusion

CII Market Facilitation Services is a critical enabler for Indian enterprises seeking to align with domestic and global growth. As government-led initiatives like Make in India, Gati Shakti, and the National Logistics Policy expand economic potential across sectors, platforms like CII MFS provide the business interface needed to turn policy into participation.

By creating structured access to opportunity and reducing information asymmetry, CII plays a key role in strengthening India’s economic and global linkages.