Snapdeal, one of India’s largest online marketplace has announced its partnership with the government of Himachal Pradesh to launch India’s first special e-commerce zone at Dharamshala in the presence of the state’s chief minister Virbhadra Singh and housing and urban development minister Sudhir Sharma, the company said in a statement.
The special e-commerce zone by Snapdeal endeavours to create business expansion and employment opportunities for the residents of Dharamshala.
Speaking about the initiative, Kunal Bahl, co-founder and CEO, Snapdeal said, “With the special e-commerce zone we are looking at invigorating and mainstreaming local economies by linking and assisting them to harness the potential of the internet. This offers multi-dimensional digital initiatives like creating online entrepreneurs, information technology training camps, outsourcing to local information technology companies, establishment of a Snapdeal technology innovation lab and promoting traditional state handicrafts through a specially curated online store for Himachali handicrafts.”
Acknowledging Snapdeal’s efforts, chief minister Virbhadra Singh said, “I am delighted that Snapdeal has taken the initiative to create employment and entrepreneurial opportunities in Dharamshala by creating a special e-commerce zone. It will have a positive impact on the economy of this region which until now has been largely based on tourism. We are now beginning a new chapter for Dharamshala’s growth and I look forward to replicating this model across other regions of the state.”
The Snapdeal Dharmashala Store, one of Snapdeal’s initiatives is being curated on Snapdeal that will house traditional products like Tankha Paintings, Kangra Arts, Handicrafts from Buddhist traditions and organic products.
Snapdeal is also conducting training workshops which will educate local artisans on the various processes involved while selling online. Snapdeal will also on-board these local artisans and manufacturers as sellers on its marketplace and thereby, enable them to sell nationally while supplying locally. A special pick up facility has been set up for these new sellers to transport their products to customers across the country.
Snapdeal is outsourcing some part of its image tagging processes to Dharamshala based ITES start-up Development Logics. This will create job opportunities for qualified local youth and widen their exposure to national business scenarios, the statement said.
The company has tied up with Dharamshala based local IT start-up Gai Technologies for co-habitation of employees to facilitate exchange of ideas and share its experiences with the young company.
Snapdeal is also setting up a technology lab at Dayananda Model Senior Secondary School to inculcate and enhance students’ interests in science and technology. The lab will be equipped with computers, robotic kits, technology enabled toys by Snapdeal to enable fun based learning among students, the statement said.
