Bengaluru, March 09, 2021: WE HUB, India's first and only state-led incubator by the Government of Telangana to foster and promote women entrepreneurship to start-up, scale-up and accelerate with global market access, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Flipkart, India's homegrown e-commerce marketplace. This year-long partnership aims to aid women entrepreneurs from Telangana to achieve financial independence by providing market connect and help them scale-up and become successful.

The MoU was inked between Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WE HUB, Government of Telangana and Mr. Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, in the presence of Mr. Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary (ITE &C), Government of Telangana.

WE Hub and Flipkart will kick off the company's flagship initiative - Flipkart Samarth in Telangana which brings together artisans, weavers, handicraft producers and rural entrepreneurs into the e-commerce fold. Through the Flipkart Samarth program, both entities aim to support livelihoods by providing them with opportunities that'll help them attain financial independence.

Enterprises from the Telangana ecosystem will be able to leverage this partnership and expand their markets in India. They will benefit from:

Seamless onboarding.

Free cataloging.

Market access to enable a national presence for artisans, weavers, and craftsmen.

Avenues to increase business and trade support.

Time-bound incubation support for eligible entities and artisans/weavers.

WE Hub and Flipkart through their expertise will guide the entrepreneurs on Product Role models and business insights that can help them determine monthly consumer trends. The entrepreneurs will also have support in the form of a fee waiver for 6 months on the Flipkart catalogue, advertising credits, and applicable support as envisaged in the Samarth Program.

Jayesh Ranjan, IAS, Principal Secretary (ITE &C), Government of Telangana, said, "It is great to see Flipkart join hands with WE HUB, Government of Telangana in enabling business entrepreneurs. We believe this partnership would benefit many women entrepreneurs across the socio-economic strata of Telangana by making the best use of these platforms, WE Hub is bringing into in Telangana".

Mr. Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said, "As a homegrown company, it is our constant endeavor to democratize e-commerce using technology and bring positive impact in the lives of MSMEs, smaller businesses, artisans, weavers and handicraft makers of our country. Flipkart Samarth was launched with this aim and we are proud of the success the program has witnessed in helping skilled communities to break entry barriers and join Flipkart's marketplace. Through our partnership with WE HUB, Government of Telangana, we will be extending this support to local entrepreneurs from the state and create avenues for their business and trade inclusion opportunities. The partnership will help create more local jobs across the ecosystem. We deeply appreciate the State's leadership support to the industry and look forward to making a continued economic impact".

Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WE HUB, said, "Good policies are always made but the challenge lies in the dissemination of the policies to every corner. It's been three years since the inception of WE Hub and we have worked with 4,527 Women Entrepreneurs with Government Departments such as DPIIT, DST, SERP, MEPMA, TRICOR and International entities such as GIZ, Australian High Commission, and UK High Commission. There is still a lot more to be done in terms of enabling Market Access, Credit Facilitation to Women Entrepreneurs, Research & Advocacy on the policy front for Women Entrepreneurship in our country. And I strongly believe the Partnerships that are announced today will go a long way in addressing this".

About WE HUB:

WE HUB is the first-of-its-kind and only state-run platform for women entrepreneurs by the Government of Telangana. WE HUB supports women entrepreneurs with innovative ideas, solutions and entities focusing on emerging areas in technology and allied sectors. It also supports under-explored/unexplored sectors, such as FMCG, retail, e-commerce, including the service sector. The mandate and goal of WE HUB are to eliminate financial and societal barriers for women and help them succeed in their enterprises. WE HUB aims to create a supportive community for aspiring and existing women entrepreneurs where they can interact with VCs for funding, connect with corporates for scaling up their business, get advice from mentors to fine-tune ideas and benefit from technical mentoring.

About Flipkart:

The Flipkart Group is one of India's leading digital commerce entities and includes group companies Flipkart, Myntra, and Flipkart Wholesale. Started in 2007, Flipkart has enabled millions of consumers, sellers, merchants, and small businesses to be a part of India's e-commerce revolution, with a registered customer base of over 300 million, offering over 150 million products across 80+ categories. The recent launch of Flipkart Wholesale, their new digital marketplace, is a testament to their commitment to accelerate the growth of kiranas and MSMEs in India. Flipkart is known for pioneering services such as Cash on Delivery, No Cost EMI and easy returns customer-centric innovations that have made online shopping more accessible and affordable for millions of Indians. Together with Myntra, and now Flipkart Wholesale, the Flipkart Group will continue to steer the transformation of commerce in India through technology.

For more information, please contact media@flipkart.com.