The Indian Institute of Management, Sambalpur and SIDBI inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to strengthen the small business/ micro enterprise ecosystem of various weaving and craft clusters across the State and the country.
Several strategic interventions will be undertaken under the partnership focused on strengthening the supply-chains, helping clusters become self-sustainable and developing a culture of entrepreneurship.
The MoU was signed by Director, IIM Sambalpur, Prof Mahadeo Jaiswal and CGM SIDBI Dr Subhransu Acharya in the august presence of dignitaries DM Bargarh Monisha Banerjee; DM, Sambalpur Ananya Das and Director, Government Affairs, East Region Flipkart Group Akash Mishra.
Dr Surendra Meher and Ramkrishna Meher, the master weavers from the Bargarh/ Sambalpur handloom clusters also graced the occasion. The event also marked the announcement of IIM’s partnership with flipkart to facilitate access of these weavers to digital e-commerce platforms.
CGM, SIDBI Dr Subhransu Acharya mentioned about the need for enhancing competitiveness of clusters by identifying and addressing the business development service needs of such clusters.
He emphasised on increasing the share of non local sales from Bargarh handloom cluster from current 25-30% to about 50% by focussing on contemporary design, packaging and leveraging strengths of online platforms. He suggested that IIM Sambalpur may work for promoting local economy and can even consider setting up of a design and craft incubator.