Amazon India trains artisans to use platform

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
May 18, 2018

In order to both source more sellers for the e-commerce platform and boost local artisans, Amazon India is training rural craftspeople on how to sell their garments online.

As handloom, handmade, and sustainable fashion continues to grow in popularity in India and customers continue to search for new products, Amazon aims to increase its customer appeal by adding a new wave of small-scale sellers specialising in handmade clothing and other items. India is full of cottage industries such as textile printers and fabric painters and Amazon staff are now traveling to rural areas to seek them out and help them to start selling on the platform.

Workshops are running in rural areas in collaboration with training partner organisations such as Prione Business Services Pvt. As part of the training Amazon is currently offering, talks are held in the respective area’s local language that cover the basics of selling online. Local wedding photographers are used to photograph products, and local internet café operators are also trained to help locals sell online. Drivers have also been enlisted to pick up items so that they can be delivered.

Aditya Agarwal, a Regional Manager with Prione Business Services Pvt., told attendees at a training session in Bhuj, Gujarat: “All you need to start selling is a bank account, a tax number and an internet connection,” the Economic Times reported.

Amazon’s new strategy to encourage small scale garment producers to use its platform reflects the results of the Union Government’s “Make in India” campaign. Customers are increasingly interested in handmade garments and making them available online allows purchasing to be almost as easy as for fast fashion.