Amazon India signs MoU with UP govt to promote crafts

Amazon India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government of Uttar Pradesh to support MSME entrepreneurs across nine districts as a part of the government’s One District One Product (ODOP) scheme. The e-commerce giant has now become the preferred online partner for the promotion of the state’s original and genuine art and crafts. Amazon India through its Kala Haat Program will help traditional industries, synonymous with respective districts of the state, leverage e-commerce to scale and access the Indian national market. Under the programme, a wide range of benefits will be offered to 300 MSME sellers registered the ODOP scheme. Amazon will provide these entrepreneurs training, account management guidance, marketing tools and world-class infrastructure of storage and delivery network to aid their progress through online selling. From Banarasi silk saris, to carpets from Bhadohi, Lucknowi Chikankari to leather goods from Kanpur, and leather footwear from Agra, from locks from Aligarh and brassware from Moradabad, to sports goods from Meerut and wooden products from Saharanpur, all of these will get access to a much broader customer base through the Amazon.in marketplace. Amazon India will connect these MSMEs to buyers across the country and get them to benefit from India’s booming digital economy. Through its ‘Kala Haat Program’ Amazon.in has been introducing lakhs of weavers, artisans and craftspeople across various clusters in India to digital commerce; hand-holding them with technology enablement and guidance through their online journey. Under the ODOP scheme, the state government has identified one product in each district of the state with a comparative manufacturing advantage. Weavers, craftspeople as well as marketing cooperatives enrolled under the scheme will receive fiscal support, easier access to continued credit facilities, as well as branding and marketing support to scale greater heights. With the option of selling products online through Amazon.in, rural artisans in UP will be able to cater to a wide spectrum of customers, get the best value for their unique products and grow their business in a short span of time. “The MSME sector accounts for almost 60 per cent of the total industrial output in Uttar Pradesh and has over 4.4 million units at present. These enterprises not only play an indispensable role in providing large scale employment opportunities at lower capital cost, but also help in industrialization of rural areas. As we aim to give impetus to local artisans under ODOP scheme, we are happy to associate with Amazon India to support the digital journey for these artisans, expand their reach and boost employment for the sector. This venture into the e-commerce space will truly take authentic, hand-crafted ‘Make in India’ offerings from the state to a worldwide scale and we look forward to providing our support to Amazon in this journey,” Bhuvnesh Kumar, IAS, secretary, department of MSME & export promotion, UP, said. “Indian artisans and their products have always been tremendously popular and in demand but the biggest challenge for these artisans is to scale up and reach out to the larger Indian as well as global audiences. We are delighted to partner with the artisan communities to bring these products of heritage arts to a vast range of customers. Enabling more and more weavers and artisans to leverage the enormous opportunities of Amazon.in marketplace strongly validates our vision to transform how India buys and sells. With the aim to boost the economic development of the weavers and artisans in the state, we are quite confident that this integration will give a huge thrust to the promotion of various authentic and unique arts & crafts of Uttar Pradesh not only in India but all over the world,” said Gopal Pillai, director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India. (RR) News Source :- https://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/handicrafts-news/amazon-india-signs-mou-with-up-govt-to-promote-crafts–243960-newsdetails.htm