The global marketplace for unique and creative goods Etsy has partnered with the North Eastern Handicrafts and Handloom Development Corporation to support small sellers, weavers and artisans by providing them with market access and enablement support. Etsy will work with the NEHHDC to develop enablement programs specifically designed for artisans from the North East including modules on online selling and entrepreneurship and the opportunity to access a wider market for their products.
Etsy aims to equip artisans, creators and small entrepreneurs in the Indian handicrafts sector with important tools and resources to start and manage online businesses. It will provide digital enablement services to these sellers and conduct training workshops to familiarise them with Etsy and how to sell on the marketplace. This partnership will help indigenous products from the area (from categories like textiles, cane and bamboo products, accessories and more) become available online for millions of buyers on the Etsy platform. Artisans from all eight North Eastern states namely Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura will be onboarded onto Etsy. They will receive a fixed amount of free ad credits as a part of this programme.
The VP of Public Policy & Advocacy at Etsy Ross La Jeunesse said, “We want to enable artisans and craftspeople from the all the states of the North East to be a part of our community of 5.5 million sellers and use our platform to showcase the intricacy, the beauty and the quality of their art to audiences and buyers across the world.”