The Indian Institute of Management Sambalpur (IIM-S) on Monday signed an MoU with the e-commerce marketplace Flipkart to promote weavers and artisan business through digital platforms and startup enterprises.
The MoU was signed by IIM-S Director Mahadeo Jaiswal and Flipkart chief corporate affairs officer Rajneesh Kumar.
The IIM-S would identify clusters of artisans and weavers within Odisha to onboard them with Flipkart’s Samarth programme connecting their businesses to a pan-India customer base. Besides, the artisans and weavers would also be offered training on business management, marketing, accounting, etc.
Rajneesh Kumar said, “It is an initiative towards truly solving the challenges of artisans and weavers by providing insights, market access and building business management skills for them.”
“Such industry-academia collaboration for artisans and weavers is a first-of-its-kind in India,” said Jaiswal.