To promote weavers and artisan business through digital platform and startup enterprises, the Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur (IIM-S) signed an MoU with the e-commerce marketplace, Flipkart
The MoU was signed virtually by the director of premier B-School, Mahadeo Jaiswal, and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, Rajneesh Kumar in presence of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation, Usha Padhee.
The leading master weavers were also present along with faculty, staff, and students of IIM Sambalpur.
As part of this MoU, IIM Sambalpur will identify clusters of artisans and weavers within Odisha to onboard them with Flipkart’s Samarth program, connecting their businesses to a pan-India customer base. In addition to this, the artisans and weavers will also be offered training on business management, marketing, accounting, etc., by IIM Sambalpur.
“The Indian handicraft industry is one of the largest employment generators and accounts for a significant share in the country’s export. However, the artisans and weavers who constitute a large part of the industry lack relevant skills to grow their business. Through our partnership with Flipkart, we will be solving certain fundamental challenges faced by this section of the society by offering them business insights and understanding challenges in their value chain while bringing them online through Flipkart’s Samarth program. Such industry-academia collaboration for artisans and weavers is one of the first-of-its-kind in India,” said Jaiswal.
Rajneesh Kumar said, “The MoU with IIM Sambalpur is a testament to our efforts towards truly solving the challenges of these artisans and weavers by providing insights, market access, and building business management skills for them”.