Ranchi, September 6, 2019: Flipkart, India's leading e-commerce marketplace, today signed an MoU with the Government of Jharkhand to onboard the state'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. The MoU will bring thousands of artisans, weavers, and craftsmen from Jharkhand into the e-commerce fold, ahead of the state's much-awaited Bamboo Artists Conclave on Sept. 18 - Sept. 19.
To begin with, products and handicrafts from Jharkraft and Khadi Jharkhand are present on the platform, with several other Jharkhand based NGOs and artisans preparing to join in a few weeks.
Benefits under Flipkart Samarth
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)
Warehousing
The Govt. of Jharkhand 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 initiative coincides with other schemes by the Jharkhand Government to promote the bamboo, khadi and handloom industries in the State. It also allows artisans from Jharkhand to participate in the upcoming online festive season in India for the first time.
Shri Raghubar Das, Hon'able Chief Minister of Jharkhand, said, "I am sure that association with Flipkart will provide national market exposure to Jharkhand's craft and traditional skills. This e-commerce platform will unite the people across India with Jharkhand's craft, traditional skills and knowledge. Apart from local artisans and weavers, in course of time, other Jharkhand MSME manufacturers will also benefit out of this association with Flipkart".
Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said, "Flipkart Samarth has been designed to help underserved communities break social and demographic barriers and participate in the formal economy. We are thankful to the Govt. of Jharkhand for its support in bringing the benefits of Samarth to the community of bamboo, khadi and handloom artisans in the State."
To access the widest selection of craft products, users of the Flipkart mobile app may type 'Samarth' in the search bar and click on the banner at the top of the results.
About Flipkart Group
The Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, Jabong, and PhonePe. Launched in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions to be a part of India's e-commerce revolution. It has a registered customer base of over 150 million, offering over 80 million products across 80+ categories. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns.
For more information, please contact: Sumanta Dey | sumanta.dey@flipkart.com | +91 99861 66788 Aaradhana Ramesh | aaradhana.r@flipkart.com | +91 99161 70030
