CraftsBazaar takes India's heritage legacy to consumers

Startup Showcase

India has a rich tapestry of heritage-crafts and highly skilled artisans spread across the country who are capable custodians of this ethos. CraftsBazaar is an online platform that connects these artisans with discerning Indian and global consumers using fair trade while accessing handcrafted products and artifacts.

Started by technology-evangelist Aparna Challu in 2016, CraftsBazaar brings India’s heritage right to the consumer’s doorstep using Internet, ecommerce and mobile technology.

“The team at CraftsBazaar works hard to preserve and promote the slipping sands of times past by enabling, preserving and marketing the rich Indian heritage through craftsbazaar.com. It is our mission to build an ecosystem that connects all consumers with the artisans directly, without any middlemen intervening to slice away at profits, and to influence tastes and dictate what consumers want,” said Aparna.

“CraftsBazaar will help you discover exclusive products across home décor, apparel and accessories, paintings, art-works and vintage products, sourced directly from the artisans and craftsmen that you may never get at a retail store or at a value proposition of your choice. It goes a step further and makes it possible for you to directly engage with craftsmen to create unique products of your taste from the comfort of your home,” she said.

“I believe in the untapped potential of the rural masses and the associated opportunity for global consumers to support fair trade while accessing resources and handcrafted products directly. It’s all made possible due to the ubiquitous presence of the Internet and the mass adoption of cell-phones in remote areas,” she added.

She believes that India with its 400 million Internet-connected people makes it possible to connect urban hubs to remote locations.

“We are witnessing millions of bank accounts being opened, e-payment mechanisms are at hand and mobile phones are becoming increasingly affordable. We do hope CraftsBazaar can leverage these synergies to the benefit of artisans and consumers,” she said.

Aparna has set three key goals for CraftsBazaar. “The first being to ensure increased global access for the highly skilled Indian craftsmen and the beauty of handmade products. The second goal is to enable direct access to consumers and the third, to offer equal opportunity and a level playing field for all,” she said.

CraftsBazaar wants to register its growth as a socio-economic enterprise, focused purely on building a vibrant ecosystem of artisans, NGOs, self-help groups, agencies and consumers, in India. “We are very committed to give back a portion of our profit to impart skill training for artisans to enhance their scale of operation and visibility,” she said.