Flipkart partners with IIM Sambalpur to research artisans' pain points and challenges

In addition, IIM Sambalpur will offer the artisans and weavers training on business management, marketing, accounting etc. while researching the challenges faced by them.

Flipkart announced today the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur to research the pain points and challenges of artisans and weavers and offer training on sustainable scaling up of businesses.

"As a homegrown company, we are committed to creating opportunities for our artisans and weavers through technology and in collaboration with our ecosystem partners. The MoU with IIM Sambalpur is a testament of our efforts towards truly solving the challenges of these artisans and weavers by providing insights, market access and building business management skills for them. Such industry-academia collaboration for artisans and weavers is one of the first-of-its-kind in India and highlights the inclusive vision of Flipkart which is taking definitive steps to improve their lives," said Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at Flipkart.

Under this partnership, IIM Sambalpur will identify clusters of artisans and weavers within Odisha to onboard them with Flipkart's Samarth program, an initiative aimed at uplifting and embracing India's artisans, weavers and micro-enterprises into the e-commerce fold.

In addition, IIM Sambalpur will offer the artisans and weavers training on business management, marketing, accounting etc. while researching the challenges faced by them.

Commenting on this partnership,  Prof. Mahadeo Jaiswal, Director, IIM Sambalpur, said, "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 and highlights the inclusive vision of Flipkart which is taking definitive steps to improve their live."

Last year, Flipkart and IIM Sambalpur announced a collaboration to support and promote small businesses, artisans and weavers by leveraging technology, e-commerce platform and market insights.