State govt and Flipkart join hands to boost artisanal trade

The MoU is likely to encourage small businesses and rural micro artisans

E-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Thursday has entered into a MoU with Maharashtra Small Scale Industries Development Corporation and Maharashtra Khadi and Village Industries Board to bring local artisans, weavers, craftsmen and small and medium businesses into an ecommerce fold. The MoU to onboard local artisans and entities on the company’s flagship initiative Flipkart Samarth.

VOCAL FOR LOCAL

The partnership will enable local artisans, weavers, craftsmen and smaller industries to showcase their hallmark products like Khadi, Paithani sarees, wooden toys, handmade artifacts, jewellery and paper products, purses and other key handicraft products to millions of customers across the country, further adding impetus to the government's ‘#Vocal for Local’ efforts. Flipkart Samarth is a nationwide initiative, which aims to help skilled local artisan communities set up their business on the Flipkart Marketplace in an efficient, transparent and costeffective manner. According to

Flipkart, the program seeks to break entry barriers for local artisans by extending time-bound incubation support, which includes benefits in the form of seamless onboarding, free cataloguing, marketing, account management, business insights and warehousing support. This will create avenues to increase business and trade inclusion opportunities for these very important segments of society. Minister of industries and mining Subhash Desai, who was present at the time of MoU signing, said, “MSMEs play a huge role in boosting the economy of the state and are vital to the state’s socio-economic development. In the post-COVID-19 era, we explored revolutionary measures to get better market opportunities and empower the handicrafts and handlooms industry.”