Flipkart signs MoU with Telangana-based SERP to boost local businesses

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jun 27, 2022

Flipkart has signed a memorandum of understanding with Telangana’s Society for the Elimination of Rural Poverty to facilitate market access for self help groups and farmer producer organisations in the state. 

The MoU was signed by Telangana’s Rural Development and Rural Water Supply Minister Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Panchayat Raj and Flipkart’s vice-president and head of grocery Smrithi Ravichandran, Flipkart announced on Saturday, the Press Trust of India reported. Through this agreement, Flipkart will provide training to FPOs and SHGs and will source goods from local Telangana farmers to help to improve their income. 

“There are 436,000 SHGs consisting of 46 lakh members in the state,” said Dayakar Rao, the Press Trust of India reported. “We wish to support all of them, especially women, for whom we have a target to provide loans of Rs 500 crore this year. We believe that the SHGs will work hard and use these initiatives to accelerate their development and grow their business.” 

Flipkart is working with a number of groups across India with the aim of building partnerships with local businesses in order to bring them online. The Walmart-owned business aims to digitise rural and small businesses and bring them to the over 400 million customers on its India platform as well as international markets through its global e-commerce platform. 

“The MoU signed with SERP is another step towards our commitment to handhold farming communities and SHGs to ensure improved income and business opportunities with adequate knowledge, training, and market access,” said Ravichandran.