Neha Gandhi, Founder, Matsya Crafts, on what it takes to bridge the gap between artisans and the Urban Market

At YourStory we always get excited when we get to hear a social entrepreneur. Neha Gandhi is one such startup entrepreneur who has taken the plunge to do what she strongly believes in - give a forum to Indian artisans and create fair economic value for everyone in the Handicraft business value chain.

Excerpts of the Conversation -

Tell us about your venture Matsya Crafts, what does it do?

Matsya is a platform to connect,showcase and retail Indian handicrafts to the larger marketplace.We are the bridge between artisans and the urban market. Currently, we are retailing crafts all across India.

Tell us your story prior to starting Matsya?

Before starting Matsya, I was in the crafts industry for about 10-11 years, during this period, I observed that artisans and craftsmen are looking for fair wages, more number of marketplaces and marketing outlets to help them. To bridge the gap between the artisans and urban markets, I started Matsya. If you spend time in this industry closely, you will realize the immense potential in the handicraft business, at the same time a compelling need to give a forum to artisans. Matsya is my way of doing something meaningful and take forward the India craft story.

What are the services that you offer specifically?

We retail crafts. We offer crafts trainings to NGOs and we recently started craft tours, wherein we connect interested people with the artisans and educate them about crafts and traditions of the region. We have had such tours to Kutch so far. We also provide consulting services to NGOs working with artisans.

How has been the response to craft tours?

We have initiated this last year and will formally launch it this year and spread the word to as many people as we can. So far we have organized 4 craft tours and the response has been really good. And we are not a travel agency, we put in dedicated efforts to make the experience memorable to people who really want to understand the craft. We understand the needs of the customers and then design the tour.

How long has Matsya been operational and what is the size of the team? We are operational since last year. We are a team of four people and we take interns for projects.

Tell me about your background.

I am a fine arts graduate from SIR.J.J. School of Fine Arts, Mumbai. I graduated in Ceramics. I worked at National Institute of Design, Awag Ekta, Asha Handicrafts and Baaya Design before starting Matsya.

What is your competitive advantage?

We try to sell crafts that are not very commonly available and we give a lot of emphasis on the quality of the products.

What are your challenges?

Right now, identifying the right markets and distribution channels are my biggest challenges.

What are the sector specific challenges?

There are two major problems. One is that, the artisans continue to practice the age old processes, which we cannot change, but, what we need to change is the design approach to make it more market oriented. Second is that, most NGOs don’t carry out market research to identify the market needs, and hence are left with excess stock. It is important to study the markets trends and tweak the products accordingly.

What is your outreach model?

We have an online store. We use social media to promote our products. We have tie-ups with stores in Mumbai and we organize art exhibitions regularly. We are looking forward to collaborating with design schools and sharing our experiences with students.

Did you fund-raise while starting up?

No. We bootstrapped.

Do you have plans to fund-raise?

Yes. Definitely. I am looking for more people to join the team. For Matsya to scale, we need to raise funds.

Where do you see Matsya going an year down the line?

We want to be a one-stop portal for craftsmen and artisans. We will keep changing ourselves with the changing needs of market.

What kind of support are looking for from YourStory’s readers?

I am looking for potential customers from YourStory’s readers. We are open to new ideas, collaborations and donors.

YourStory will keep you posted about how Matsya(http://matsyacrafts.com/) scales in the near future, if you are looking at collaborating or have an idea for Neha to spread her market do get in touch with her.