Flipkart signs MoU with Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) to enable market access & growth for Farmer Producers Organisations and Self-Help Groups in Telangana …

Hyderabad : Flipkart, India’s homegrown e-commerce marketplace, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP), Department of Rural Development, Government of Telangana, to enable market access for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) in the state of Telangana. The MoU was exchanged between Sri Sandeep Kumar Sultania, IAS, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development, Govt. of Telangana and Ms. Smrithi Ravichandran, Vice President and Head of Grocery, Flipkart, at an event held in MCR HRD – Dasarathi Auditorium, Jubilee Hills in Hyderabad. The guest of honor for the event was Sri. Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Hon’ble Panchayat Raj, Rural Development and Rural Water Supply Minister, Govt. of Telangana, along with other dignitaries including Ms. Rajitha Nardella, COO, SERP, Telangana.

Through this partnership, Flipkart aims to empower local farming communities and SHGs of Telangana by providing pan-India market access to more than 400 million customers on its platform. As part of this collaboration, Flipkart will directly source premium quality pulses, millets, staples, and spices from the local farmers, contributing to improved income and business growth. Flipkart will further engage with these communities through virtual and on-ground training and capacity-building initiatives to provide them with an understanding of the quality, pricing, and licenses required to be a part of the FPO ecosystem. SERP will extend support with infrastructure and necessary approvals to take this partnership forward

Speaking on the occasion Sri. Errabelli Dayakar Rao, Hon’ble Panchayat Raj, Rural Development and Rural Water Supply Minister, Govt. of Telangana said “This first of its kind MoU signed in the country with a credible e-commerce giant such as Flipkart is another milestone contributing to the progress of Telangana. SHGs and women from Telangana will now be able to sell their products to a pan India consumer base for an improved livelihood and gaining more visibility. There are 4,36,000 SHGs consisting of 46 lakhs members in the state. We wish to support all of them, especially women, for whom we have a target to provide loans of 500 crores this year. We believe that the SHGs will work hard and use these initiatives to accelerate their development and to grow their businesses”

Sri Sandeep Kumar Sultania, IAS, Panchayat Raj & Rural Development, Govt. of Telangana said “We are delighted to enter this partnership between SERP & Flipkart. Through this MoU, our farmer and SHGs, our produce will reach pan-India market as well as international markets. Flipkart and SERP partnership will enhance the income of our farmers and their fresh produce will get pan-India market access. The training, skill development, and focus on product standardization will ensure the products are not limited to B2B partners only but scale to reach pan-India customers directly. This partnership will give good recognition to the state FPOs, Women and SHGs in a big way in the years to come.”

Speaking at the event, Ms. Smrithi Ravichandran, Vice President – Grocery, Flipkart, said, “Flipkart is dedicated to creating new avenues of progress for all its stakeholders. The MoU signed with SERP is another step towards our commitment to handhold farming communities and SHGs to ensure improved income and business opportunities with adequate knowledge, training, and market access. This further promotes inclusivity with FPOs, SHGs, and entrepreneurs in India and Telangana. Our customers get an improved experience with direct access to quality produce and fresh groceries from these FPOs in the region. We look forward to creating more such linkages and initiatives for the farming community to help them scale their offerings through technology & e-commerce and help bring rural prosperity.”

Flipkart is currently working with multiple Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), small and marginal farmers across the country to build sustainable and scalable partnerships. It has trained over 10,000 farmers across the country, on product quality and food safety to enable market access and empower & prosper the farmer community in India.