New Delhi: Two students from the twelfth grade creates a stride with their startup named Zysha. Their company turns out to be the first youth-led online marketplace in India that promotes environmentally friendly and culturally appropriate handicrafts created and produced by numerous artisan groups from all across the country. Zysha offers an online platform (in the form of a website) that at the moment supports more than 450+ underprivileged and unrecognised Indian artists and artisans by showcasing their handicrafts on their website, where customers can buy them and aid them in coping with the devastating losses they have incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Their goal is to sustainably use handicrafts to promote India’s rich cultural diversity and to assist such artists and artisans from all around the country.
Post-pandemic, the company was incepted as a consequence of the founders’ realisation of the seriousness of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on craftsmen. They understood that while many retail stores had suffered due to the epidemic, small handicraft stall owners were now more exposed to its negative effects. As they connected this to the fact that, in contrast to other retail outlets, craftsmen lacked access to resources like e-commerce to deal with the pandemic. After discussing ideas on a forum, they began speaking with handicraft sellers close to their community to learn more about their customers and goods. Subsequently created the website Zysha, where they attempted to equip Indian craftspeople with the resources they lacked by using their knowledge of technology.
When asked about their company’s performance and future plans, the founders of Zysha, Shubhangi Lakhanpal CEO, and Zayna Ali Khan CMO said, “We presently support more than 450 artists and craftspeople from throughout India. Zysha has also partnered with many NGOs, such as Saksham Mahila Bachatgat in Mumbai, which empowers housewives in a nearby hamlet by allowing them to sell their handmade crafts on our website and thereby promoting their financial independence. By the end of this year, Zysha intends to assist more than 1000 artists and artisans. We are also willing to accept student volunteers who want to put us in touch with any disadvantaged or unappreciated Indian artisans they may know.”
To relieve disadvantaged and unappreciated Indian artists and craftspeople of additional effort, Zysha offers centralised services on their behalf. In addition to creating a marketplace for the artisans through their website, which increases their visibility and skills, Zysha also eliminates the middlemen who typically take advantage of these artists and artisans by charging a commission. Their centralised services include handling the shipping logistics, packaging, branding, and marketing of the artisans and their handicrafts. The craftsmen’s ability to reach a much bigger consumer base through Zysha allows them to increase their sales and earnings. They assist them in enhancing their living standards and recouping from the terrible losses they suffered because of the pandemic.
