Bhubaneswar, Dec 6 (KNN) E-commerce giant Flipkart announced an agreement with the Odisha government to help self-help groups (SHGs), artisans and weavers in the state sell goods online.

Flipkart has inked a MoU under its Samarth programme. The programme was launched in July 2019 with the aim of getting artisans, weavers and micro enterprises into the e-commerce fold.

Speaking about the joint collaboration, Sujata R Karthikeyan, Commissioner, Mission Shakti Dept, Government of Odisha, said, “E-commerce is undoubtedly a new way to a better tomorrow. The e-commerce Industry is an ideal platform for providing opportunities and encouragement to women entrepreneurs who aspire to pursue entrepreneurship.”  

As per reports, under the programme, Flipkart will help SHGs and others with the on boarding of products besides cataloguing their products, imparting orientation, training on product packaging, logistics management, payment gateway/integration management, and returns & exchange management etc. The producer SHGs will also get time-bound incubation support from Flipkart. 

“Through this partnership with the Government of Odisha, we will continue to support Self Help Groups, artisans and weavers in the state through the Samarth initiative in addition to getting MSMEs pan-India market access using our platform. Together, we will work towards creating a wide range of business and employment opportunities that will support many livelihoods and boost the local economy,” said Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, Flipkart Group.

The Odisha government had launched Mission Shakti back in 2001 to form SHGs for women’s empowerment programmes.

Currently, the programme has 70 lakh women organized into more than 6 lakh SHGs to address structural impediments that prevent women from entering the labour market through local public and private investments, with an emphasis on domestic capital for women’s economic empowerment and entrepreneurship. 

With similar associations with other state governments and their departments such as Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, etc., Flipkart’s Samarth programme has grown by 300 per cent over the last year while the programme has helped sellers grow their businesses by 300 per cent as well, Flipkart said in September this year.  (KNN Bureau)