Etsy, Samhita Social Ventures to enable 1000s of artisans in India

Etsy, the global marketplace for unique and creative goods, has teamed up with Samhita Social Ventures, a social impact organization that promotes collaboration and innovation to achieve a sustainable and equitable future for all, to deliver market access and enablement support to over 25,000 small sellers, weavers, and artisans across India.

As part of the relationship, Etsy is onboarding artists from the Samhita Social Ventures ecosystem onto its worldwide marketplace, giving them access to a larger market for their products. Etsy will give digital enablement and training courses, including modules on online selling and entrepreneurship, to participating sellers to help them start and run their stores. Etsy will also pay these sellers a predetermined sum.

Samhita Social Ventures

“Etsy’s vision is to ‘Keep Commerce Human,’ and we are committed to using the power of our business to empower small sellers and entrepreneurs globally – knowing that by doing so, we empower and improve communities,” stated Pankaj Jathar, Vice President and Country Head India, Etsy. Millions of artisans in India perform wonderful work but lack the opportunity to expose it outside of a specific region. We aim to help these micro-entrepreneurs and craftspeople become more digitally comfortable and provide them with more options to sell in India and beyond.”

“India’s handicrafts sector is highly fragmented and faces numerous challenges such as limited digital infrastructure and market access,” stated Priya Naik, Founder-CEO of Samhita Social Ventures. Our relationship with Etsy aims to promote digital literacy and market access for Indian craftsmen. By bridging the gap between traditional handicrafts and modern digital commerce, we hope to offer new opportunities for India’s craftsmen to present their distinctive creations to a worldwide audience, as well as a more equitable and sustainable future for the sector.”

This collaboration will enable local products from India in a variety of categories, including handloom, weaving, wooden toys, ceramics, grass and bamboo products, accessories, and more, to be available online for millions of shoppers on the Etsy platform.