Flipkart partners with FICCI to conduct workshops for MSMEs across India

Flipkart partners with FICCI to conduct workshops for MSMEs across India to help them grow their business

●     Series of informational events and workshops for MSMEs across India, starts with Ahmedabad on November 21, 2019

●     Aim & theme of workshop ‘Winning Big on E-commerce’ seeks to familiarise MSMEs with e-commerce, the support available to MSMEs, besides knowhow on building brands and best practices

●     MSMEs will get to interact directly with Flipkart leadership to understand how e-commerce can help them grow their businesses

 Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, has partnered with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) to launch a workshop series across India for MSMEs to help them leverage e-commerce to grow their business. Starting with Ahmedabad on November 21, 2019, Flipkart and FICCI will host a series of workshops on the theme of ‘Winning big with e-commerce,’ wherein MSMEs can understand how the e-commerce marketplace can help them build their businesses and increase brand visibility.

India is home to over 60 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which contribute close to 30% of the country’s GDP and are crucial drivers of job creation and economic growth. The developing e-commerce industry provides a new business opportunity for these entrepreneurs, many of whom are unfamiliar with how to sell online and do not get a chance to regularly interact with online marketplaces to clear their doubts. Flipkart and FICCI’s workshops are designed to address these two pain points.

Flipkart representatives will advise attendees on e-commerce specific accounting and taxation issues, access to capital, how to identify new opportunities, the importance of brand building online, how to build and scale their brands, and supply chain management and inventory planning for e-commerce. Through these workshops, MSMEs will learn more about how to expand beyond their physical brick-and-mortar presence to a pan-India customer base of over 200 million. Flipkart aims to host over 10 such events to begin with, across cities such as Bhubaneshwar, Chandigarh, Guwahati, Nagpur and more.

“Flipkart has always been committed to empowering MSMEs and domestic manufacturers to succeed in India. As a homegrown company, we know that MSMEs play a key role in job creation and India’s economic development, and we understand the importance of giving these businesses an avenue for sustained, faster growth. We have a mission to democratize e-commerce in India supported by innovation and technology and create lasting benefits in the country. We aim to create a robust ecosystem to enable this growth, and familiarizing and supporting MSMEs with the benefits of e-commerce is an essential step in this direction. We look forward to partnering lakhs of MSMEs and bring them into the e-commerce fold over the coming months,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO - Flipkart Group.

“MSMEs are one of the key drivers of India’s economic growth; they contribute significantly to the country’s growth, through developing manufacturing and local employment. The development of this sector is a key focus area for the Government of India, as is the strengthening of the digital economy. E-commerce has the potential to serve both these aims, and transform the MSME sector. We are pleased to work alongside Flipkart in this initiative, and we are confident of its benefits to MSMEs across India,” said Rajiv Vastupal, Immediate Past Chairman, FICCI Gujarat State Council.

The partnership with FICCI is the latest in the many steps taken by Flipkart towards making e-commerce more inclusive and bringing India’s myriad small businesses and sellers online. Flipkart has recently revamped its seller financing and onboarding programmes to simplify the process of selling online for MSMEs.

Flipkart and Uttar Pradesh Khadi & Village Industries Board sign MoU

Flipkart and Uttar Pradesh Khadi & Village Industries Board sign MoU

• MoU signed in the presence of Hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Yogi Adityanath

• Initiative to help bring online thousands of Khadi weavers and craftsmen from U.P.

• Flipkart Samarth to help with 6 months incubation support to help them set up a thriving business on the Flipkart Marketplace

 Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Uttar Pradesh Khadi & Village Industries Board (UPKVIB) as part of the Flipkart ‘Samarth’ initiative. Flipkart Samarth is aimed at enabling artisans, weavers, and craftsmen from diverse backgrounds and rural parts of the country to set up their business on Flipkart.

As part of the Samarth program, eligible entities and artisans will receive incubation support in the form of onboarding, cataloguing, account management, business insights, dedicated seller support, reduced commission (where eligible), and warehousing. The Govt. of Uttar Pradesh is supporting the initiative by fast-tracking collaboration between Flipkart and UPKVIB registered affiliates that work in the arts, handicrafts and textile space. UPKVIB and Flipkart will work together to help weavers and artisans sell Khadi fabrics and village industries products across Flipkart’s pan-India customer base of over 160 million.

The MoU was signed in Lucknow between Dr. Navneet Sehgal, IAS, CEO of UPKVIB, and Shri. Rajneesh Kumar, Chief Corporate Affairs Officer of the Flipkart Group. The MoU was signed in the presence of the hon’ble Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri. Yogi Adityanath.

Commenting on the development, Dr. Navneet Sehgal of UPKVIB said, “The skills of our artisans, weavers and craftsmen are passed on over generations and, due to e-commerce, the current generation has great opportunities to market their products across India and make a better living. Equally, it’s an excellent way for our fellow Indians across the country to discover the beauty and variety of traditional Khadi apparel, handicrafts and village industries products. We are hopeful that our association with Flipkart will encourage more artisans and weavers of Uttar Pradesh to become a part of the e-commerce economy.”

Flipkart’s Rajneesh Kumar said, “E-commerce is a powerful driver for inclusive socio-economic growth, and we are glad to be able to demonstrate that through our Flipkart Samarth initiative. We are thankful to the Govt. of Uttar Pradesh for collaborating with us to bring online the community of Khadi and village industries artisans in U.P. We hope that it will help more communities to break social and demographic barriers and access our growing pan-India customer base to showcase their products.”

Flipkart joins hands with GiveIndia to foster inclusivity

Flipkart joins hands with GiveIndia to foster inclusivity and spread the joy of giving ahead of the festive season

●     Six social causes will be highlighted over six days

●     Flipkart’s 160-million-plus consumers will be able to contribute towards the causes close to their hearts 

Flipkart, India’s leading e-commerce marketplace, and GiveIndia, one of the country’s largest and most trusted donation platforms, have come together for the first time for Daan Utsav and Giving Tuesday India, a one of a kind giving initiative, to encourage people to perform acts of kindness by contributing to a cause they believe in.

To be held between October 5-10 on the Flipkart platform, Daan Utsav 2019 will highlight the various causes citizens can contribute to from the Flipkart platform. These range from sustainability, women empowerment, equality for the differently-abled, menstrual hygiene, animal welfare, and children empowerment. These causes are supported by various non-profit organisations including Magic Bus, Goonj, Haritika, Charlie’s Animal Rescue Centre, and Uma Educational & Technical Society.

The partnership will take the concept of ‘everyday giving’ a notch higher by bringing charity to the fingertips of millions of Flipkart users. Every donor will be able to view periodic impact reports that will show them how their donation is being utilized.

The partnership will enable over 160 million Flipkart customers, lakhs of sellers, and Flipkart employees to contribute to any of the six social causes. 

Commenting on the partnership, Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart Group, said, “As we gear up to celebrate the festive season, our goal is to ensure that we reach out to the underserved and work towards the promise of a better nation. By identifying a unique cause for each of the six days of Daan Utsav, we hope to bring together our users and stakeholders for a cause that they feel strongly about. In essence, this initiative is aimed at contributing to nation-building, as we work towards bridging the gap between India and Bharat, the privileged and the underserved.”

Atul Satija, CEO, GiveIndia said, “GiveIndia is a pioneer in bridging the gap between donors and trusted non-profits. Daan Utsav or the Joy of Giving Week is a great platform for us to boost our mission of alleviating poverty by enabling the world to ‘Give’. Through this alliance with Flipkart, we are accelerating towards our aim to simplify giving at scale. Not only are we supporting Flipkart in their giving journey by connecting them with trusted non-profits but we are also reaching out to their millions of users and contributing towards the building of an everyday philanthropy ecosystem.”

 Celebrating its 11th year, Daan Utsav is an annual festival which encourages selfless giving among citizens. What started with a handful of volunteers has now become a national phenomenon that takes place every year from October 2-8.. During Daan Utsav, people perform various acts of kindness by contributing meaningfully to a cause they believe in and society at large.

Last year’s Daan Utsav saw the participation of more than six million participants from over 200 towns, cities and villages across the country