Flipkart launches 'Samarth' to empower Indian artisans, weavers, craftsmen

Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, on Wednesday launched ‘Flipkart Samarth’ – an initiative aimed at bringing India’s artisans, weavers, and handicrafts producers onto e-commerce. 

This move will open up national market access for these underserved communities, giving them access to a constantly growing pan-India customer base of more than 150 million and empowering them to leverage the benefits of the e-commerce model, the company said in a press statement.

Going beyond just providing market access, Flipkart Samarth has been designed to support the e-commerce journey for artisans from on-boarding until they reach familiarity with the process of selling online. The host of initiatives and benefits under Flipkart Samarth include dedicated support for onboarding, cataloguing, account management, business insights, dedicated seller support, reduced commission where eligible, and warehousing support.

Flipkart Samarth will work closely with reputed NGOs and government bodies and livelihood missions to reach a large number of rural entrepreneurs, with a special focus on women-led enterprises, differently-abled entrepreneurs, artisans, and weavers, who often face obstacles such as lack of access to working capital, poor infrastructure, and inadequate training. Flipkart has systematically assessed the pain points and aspirations of these groups and designed Flipkart Samarth to address their problems and make it easier for them to list and sell online, the company statement mentioned.

“As a homegrown company, we are constantly innovating to find new ways to use e-commerce to uplift and empower all sections of society, especially MSMEs,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO, Flipkart Group.

“Through ‘Flipkart Samarth,’ we are helping traditionally underserved communities access a pan-India market and engage with over 150 million customers. The initiative will help us partner with the government and add impetus to various social empowerment schemes.”

‘Flipkart Samarth’ will leverage the increasing internet penetration in rural India to boost entrepreneurship.

Anurag Singh Thakur, minister of state for finance and corporate affairs, who launched the initiative as chief guest said: “I am happy to see a slew of private players including Flipkart have come forward and bridge the gap between local artisans, technology and the marketplace. Bringing our local sellers, helping them build their brand and guiding them through the supply chain process will go a long way in building a robust e-commerce ecosystem and the ‘Made in India’ brand.”