Flipkart signs MoU with Jharkhand govt to launch Samarth
The Samarth initiative of Flipkart will enable national market access for artisans, weavers, and craftsmen of Jharkhand by helping them set up online businesses.
Flipkart, India’s leading ecommerce marketplace, has signed an MoU with the Government of Jharkhand to onboard the Jharkhand’s artisans, weavers and craftsmen onto Flipkart Samarth – an initiative aimed at enabling and handholding craftsmen from across India to set up an online business.
According to a press release from Flipkart, the MoU will bring thousands of artisans, weavers, and craftsmen from Jharkhand into the ecommerce fold, ahead of the state’s Bamboo Artists Conclave on September 18 and 19.
Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said,
“We are delighted to join hands with the Govt. of Jharkhand to give the state’s artisans and weavers the opportunity to showcase and sell their products to a pan-India customer base of over 150 million. Flipkart Samarth has been designed to help underserved communities break social and demographic barriers and participate in the formal economy."
Raghubar Das, Chief Minister of Jharkhand, said,
"Artisans, handloom weavers and craftspersons of Jharkhand are having an enormous skill which is passed on from generation to generation. I am sure that association with Flipkart will provide national market exposure to Jharkhand's craft and traditional skills.”
To begin with, products and handicrafts from Jharcraft and Khadi Jharkhand are present on the platform, with several other Jharkhand-based NGOs and artisans preparing to join in a few weeks.
As part of the Flipkart Samarth program, eligible entities and artisans will receive time-bound incubation support in the form of onboarding, cataloguing, account management, business insights, reduced commission (where eligible), and warehousing.
The Jharkhand government is supporting the initiative by fast-tracking collaboration between Flipkart and state-run enterprises that are already working in the arts and handicrafts space.
This development coincides with other initiatives and schemes by the Jharkhand Government to promote the bamboo, khadi, and handloom industries in the state. It also comes just ahead of the online festive season in India, one in which artisans from Jharkhand can participate in for the first time.
(Edited by Saheli Sen Gupta)
