Amazon Launches Panthoibi Emporium On Its Marketplace

Empowering over three lakh artisans and weavers, Amazon India has launched Panthoibi Emporium on its marketplace under its Amazon Karigar programme. The company has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Manipur Handloom and Handicrafts Development Corporation Limited (MHHDCL) to support the artisans across the state.

This initiative is driven by the intent to encourage digital inclusion and empower the artisan and weaver community, offer economic opportunities by becoming Amazon sellers, as well as job creation. Sellers’ part of ‘Panthoibi Emporium’ will be able to avail benefits such as personalised training for a quick start, increased customer visibility and dedicated marketing support among others.

Manipur Chief Minister N. Biren Singh said, “This is an important development towards empowering the local weavers and artisans associated with Panthoibi Emporium. Given Amazon’s prowess in e-commerce, this association will open up unlimited opportunities for them to grow and scale their business. Aided with the right tools, technology, and insights, MSMEs can play a definite role in accelerating the growth of the Indian economy. Therefore, it is important that the e-commerce ecosystem and its key stakeholders work towards enabling more and more small businesses with capacity building activities.”

This association will also enable these weavers to access a potentially wider market base, bringing in greater recognition for their work and providing more employment opportunities. Millions of Amazon’s customers from across the country can access and shop from a wide variety of products like Kauna Crafts - Water Reed, Manipuri Rani Phee and food items like black rice, forest forage teas, GI tagged chili, GI tagged lemon and oranges, amongst others offered by Panthaoibi Emporium unique to Manipur.

Sumit Sahay, Director, Selling Partner Services, Amazon India said, “Manipur is known for its handicraft and handloom industry across the world. The launch of Panthoibi Emporium on the marketplace further adds to our mission to make Indian arts and crafts accessible to customers through Amazon Karigar programme and digitise 10 million MSMEs by 2025. We will continue to collaborate with organisations like MHHDCL to expand product selection by bringing in local art forms benefitting craftsmen through Amazon Karigar programme, in the process, and make Amazon.in marketplace selection truly representative of India’s rich culture.

Since the launch of the Amazon Karigar programme in 2016, Amazon India has onboarded more than 3,700 master weavers, co-operatives, artisans and regional APEX bodies to sell on Amazon.in. The programme has impacted the lives of over 13 lakh artisans and weavers. Amazon.in has also collaborated with 30 government emporiums and seven government bodies to showcase authentic crafts to craft lovers and increase market connectivity. Today, Karigar showcases over 1.7 Lakh products, including over 450 unique arts and crafts from over 27 states and union territories, and provides Indian handicraft and artisan communities’ enhanced visibility by enabling them to sell their products to a large customer base.

About Panthoibi Emporium

Panthoibi Emporium is a unit of Manipur Handlooms & Handicrafts Development Corporation Ltd. (MHHDCL) under the aegis of the Directorate of Handlooms & Textiles. It works as a collection house of Manipur’s produced Handloom and Handicrafts products from various weavers and artisans of different communities of Manipur. It’s a one-stop-shop for all the local MSMEs and entrepreneurs to showcase their products to buyers both local and global with back-end logistic support.