Government Joins Hands With Flipkart To Flip Fate Of Artisans In Odisha!

Government Joins Hands With Flipkart To Flip Fate Of Artisans In Odisha!

For Akash Swain, an artisan from Raghurajpur, business meant footfall of tourists. But the pandemic has spelt doom for artisans like Akash who have suffered huge losses with no tourists visiting them.

However, they are now hopeful that their fates could flip for the better! In a bid to promote the art, crafts and handloom sector of Odisha and expose the artisans, weavers and craftsmen to the world of digital marketing, the state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with India’s popular e-commerce marketplace Flipkart.

Under Flipkart Samarth programme in association with State Institute for Development of Arts & Crafts (SIDAC), the local artisans, weavers and craftsmen from Odisha will now be able to showcase their products all across the country.

With this partnership, both SIDAC and Flipkart are hopeful to create avenues to increase business and trade inclusion opportunities. Artisans, weavers, craftsmen are also hopeful that this would bring better business opportunities for them.

Talking about this initiative, Akash Swain informed MCL how business had been severely affected in the last few months. “Most of the artisans in Raghurajpur are dependent on tourists who used to buy the products. Now the situation has worsened as COVID has affected the tourism sector the most. Flipkart would be a big platform for the artisans to sell the products and we hope this would benefit the artisans,” he added.

“However, only those artisans would benefit from this partnership who are associated with SIDAC, Utkalika, Boyanika. Most artisans from Raghurajpur are not going to benefit from this. There are many people who purchase products from us and sell on Flipkart and Amazon. It would be better if Flipkart and Amazon directly tie-up with artisans,” added Akash.

On similar lines, Akula Charan, a handloom weaver from Maniabandhan said, “COVID19 has hampered our business severely. We are not getting any buyers for our finished products. Most of the weavers in my region have been associated with Uthalika and Boyanika, hence the  partnership with Flipkart may be helpful to increase the sale of the handloom products.”

As per the MoU, Flipkart will get the products from the government enterprises like Boyanika, Utkalika and Sambalpuri Bastralaya which works with local artisans and weavers of Odisha.

Additional Secretary to Handlooms, Textiles & Handicrafts Department, Kailash Chandra Sahoo said, “The partnership with Flipkart is the start of a new era in Odisha’s Handicrafts and Handloom Sectors. With the help of Flipkart, handloom and handicraft artisans living in remote areas of Odisha will now be able to get a better market for their products.” 

This partnership will also help the artisans gain valuable knowledge about branding, digital marketing and financial management while showcasing the local heritage and hallmark products, added Sahoo.

Expressing his happiness over the partnership, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of Flipkart Group, Rajneesh Kumar said, “As a homegrown platform, we believe it is our responsibility to boost local businesses and transform them through ecosystem partnerships. This partnership would benefit thousands of handloom artisans, weavers and craftsmen in the state.”