E-commerce platform ties up with artisans across state to sell tribal artwork
Written by Parthasarathi Biswas | Pune | Published: March 16, 2018 5:33 am
Universal Tribes has a virtual platform operational at Pune airport, which takes the visitor on a virtual tour and also allows him or her to select the product.
An e-commerce platform has tied up with over 100 artisans across Maharashtra to sell tribal products online. The platform, which goes by the name Universal Tribes, connects tribal artisans from across the state connect with with e-platforms like Amazon and Flipkart. “Many of the art forms are in danger and through my initiative, I hope to keep them alive by helping tribal artisans discover newer markets,” said Pune-based entrepreneur Rajat Raghatwan, who started Universal Tribes in September 2017. Raghatwan said he has been working on this platform for the last year and after tribal artisans from Maharashtra, he has expanded the platform’s reach to artists in Rajasthan and Chattisgarh.
Like Amazon, Raghatwan’s business model also works on inventory with the entrepreneur replenishing the same once goods get sold. “As of now, very few artists are ready to deal in credit so we buy the products outright from them,” he said. Universal Tribes has a virtual platform operational at Pune airport, which takes the visitor on a virtual tour and also allows him or her to select the product. Universal Tribes has tied up with various e-commerce platforms, and they get orders from these platforms.
“We act as an aggregator for aggregators — the orders from e-commerce platforms come to us and we send them to the artists for delivery,” said Raghatwan. “Till now, this venture has received investment worth Rs 10-15 lakh in various forms,” he added. With the main objective of saving dying tribal art forms, Raghatwan said he hopes to scale up the business in the future. Raghatwan said they have plans to set up Maharashtra’s first tribal art village in Junnar taluka of Pune. The village, he said, will have artisans showcase the various tribal art forms practised in the state.
“This will give the visitor a chance to see and experience all the various forms of art at one place,” he said.
Source : The Indian Express
