Flipkart partners with NULM to empower artisans and self-help groups

Leading e-commerce marketplace Flipkart on Monday partnered with the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana -- National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) under the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to empower skilled yet underserved sections of society by inducting them into e-commerce.

Flipkart will collaborate with state missions under the DAY-NULM to establish the Flipkart Samarth programme in 22 states across India to begin with.

The company and state missions will work with self-help groups (SHGs) including local artisans, weavers and crafts producers, and producers of raw and organic food items to provide them market access, training and support.

Sellers under the programme will receive time-bound incubation support from Flipkart that extends to a host of benefits such as cataloguing support, account management support and more.

The partnership will increase business and trade opportunities for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and provide them training and support to grow their business.

"The collaboration with Flipkart will be instrumental in capacity building of women entrepreneurs in skills of branding, digital marketing and financial management in addition to providing access to wider customer base to locally-made high-quality products of SHGs under DAY-NULM," said Sanjay Kumar, Joint Secretary and Mission Director of DAY-NULM.

Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group, said the initiative will enable sellers to overcome geographical and socio-economic constraints by leveraging the Flipkart platform to reach more than 200 million customers across India.

"With every artisan or MSME we onboard on Flipkart, e-commerce becomes more inclusive for Indians," he said in a statement.