SAMBALPUR: The Indian Institute of Management-Sambalpur (IIM-S) on Monday inked a pact with e-commerce giant Flipkart to promote works of weavers and artisans through the digital platform.
The MoU was signed virtually between Director of IIM-S Mahadeo Jaiswal and chief corporate affairs officer of Flipkart Rajneesh Kumar in presence of Joint Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation Usha Padhee.
As per the pact, Flipkart and IIM-S will extend support and promote small businesses, artisans and weavers by leveraging technology, e-commerce platform, and market insights. As part of the MoU, IIM-S will identify clusters of artisans and weavers within Odisha to put them on board with Flipkart’s Samarth program connecting their businesses to a pan-India customer base.
This apart, artisans and weavers will also be offered training on business management, marketing, and accounting by IIM-S besides researching their pain points and challenges. Flipkart has partnered with several states across the country including Odisha for the Samarth initiative.
The partnership with the Odisha government’s State Institute for Development of Arts and Crafts (SIDAC) is helping renowned Odia brands such as Boyanika, Utkalika, and Sambalpuri Bastralaya among others to access the pan-India marketplace through Flipkart.
Jaiswal said, “Through our partnership with Flipkart, we will be solving certain fundamental challenges faced by the weaver community by offering them business insights while bringing them online through Flipkart’s Samarth initiative. Such industry-academia collaboration for artisans and weavers is first-of-its-kind in India. It highlights the inclusive vision of IIM Sambalpur, which is taking definitive steps to improve their lives.” Among others, leading master weavers, faculty, staff, and students of IIM-S were present.