Founded in 2017, eWe claims to have helped over 550 ladies get tech and talent development education
It has carried out nearly 50 seminars to onboard ladies workers and help them apprehend ecommerce and social selling
Built around the idea of social trade, the eWe app acts as a digital shop for women to promote merchandise
The close to-global lockdown has affected almost all sectors of the Indian economy and among the worst-hit is the textile and clothing (T&A) enterprise because of the reset inside the retail marketplace as well as the bar on production and ecommerce orders. Not handiest became the arena expected to suffer large layoffs but it additionally saw many factories and stores close operations because the spread of Covid-19 plagued the kingdom.
However, thinking about the fact that more than eighty% of the T&A enterprise comes below the MSME (micro, small and medium firms) umbrella, it's far predicted to peer a few revival from the INR 3 Lakh Cr collateral-free computerized loan assertion made by using the government.
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But beyond the government measures, startups also are aiming to make a contribution to the MSME area with jobs, tech upskilling and a taste of entrepreneurship via diverse tasks and merchandise. Incorporated in 2017, Kerala-primarily based startup eWe — ‘empowerment of ladies entrepreneurship’ — claims to have helped over 2 hundred ladies find jobs and over 550 girls get education to recognize tech and sell fashion and apparel products from the consolation of their homes. It has these days resumed operations after the authorities removed the regulations on non-essential merchandise in positive elements of India.
“A lot of ladies in India are housewives who're in need of a sustainable earnings however cannot circulate for a job. Most of those girls have the potential to market an object particularly style and apparels and we consider, with the aid of era, they can make a lot of distinction,” said Abhayan P, cofounder, eWe.
The awareness of the startup is mainly on items related to style and clothing — especially khadi, handloom and cotton ones —, ornaments — made by bamboo, clay — handicraft and kitchen add-ons which come beneath the ethical initiative.
eWe: A Platform For Women By Women
The startup started out with the aid of accomplishing seminars in unique districts to find out involved and gifted ladies for the platform. Soon enough, with the cooperation of district panchayat, district business centres and the Kerala Startup Mission and lots of different governmental and non-governmental businesses, eWe’s marketing campaign picked up pace.
“We have performed around 50 such seminars throughout Kerala to empower girls and inspire them to become entrepreneurs. Around two hundred-three hundred women registered thru those seminars as eWe marketers to earn a living from home and sell the goods using our virtual store,” delivered Sangeetha Abhay, founder and CEO, eWe.
Post the seminars, eWe’s women marketers were allotted exclusive categories based on a questionnaire and their knowledge of the digital trade landscape. This additionally enables the help and education for every entrepreneur. Once onboarded, the startup analyses the performance and offers extra education as the women marketers progress.
The startup collaborates with girls in primary regions — production and advertising. In the manufacturing category, it analyses the goods, its scope and first-class. And then provides them with the desired technical education for the best upgradation with the guide of presidency training centres. One such centre which is operating with eWe to provide those schooling free of price is the National Academy of RUDSETI, an institute for talent education.
Abhayan informed cft that eWe offers training right from manufacturing to very last income, which include finance control education, commercial enterprise management training, virtual advertising education. “We offer digital advertising training to assist girls scale up and attain a much wider target market. It consists of SMM advertising strategies together with the use of WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and more. And because the performance improves we host district wise seminars and ship a number of motion pictures to the women for them to understand and use digital advertising.” he defined.
Women promote merchandise thru the eWe cellular app, which acts as a virtual shop for all the home entrepreneurs. Post that, they could start promoting and earn with the aid of splitting the fee with eWe. Additionally, eWe also conducts periodical analysis and meetings to offer these at-domestic dealers the proper feedback and provide special incentives based on their work.
The Covid-19 Effect And Future Goals
With the pandemic forcing the authorities to enforce a lockdown and limit movement, the entire fabric industry faced the lack of income and eWe turned into no exception. While the seamstresses have been left with none profits, weavers now not most effective saw the lack of salary but also the fabric that they had were ruined stored inside the inventory room for a long way too long.
Soon, the startup realised there was an opportunity to make a difference regardless of the pandemic ongoing. “As the government mandated the use of the mask, we realised that masks product of best fabric and of material that isn't always harmful to nature after use could be a exquisite necessity. Otherwise, it could result in a main waste hassle for our united states of america day after today. We additionally need to ensure the health and protection of our pores and skin and making masks with Khadi fabric can clear up a lot of these issues,” Abhay advised cft.
EWe also reached out to the Kerala Startup Mission and with its guide, received travel permissions to start making reusable cloth face masks from the first week of April. These mask have been then disbursed all through Kerala. EWe labored with seamstresses that had a sewing gadget at home in the inexperienced zones in Kerala and gave them the possibility to make such face masks. Abhayan found out that many corporates and banks ordered khadi cotton masks from eWe, which made it possible for greater than 20 ladies and households to earn an earnings.
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At the equal time, as a part of a social initiative — at the side of six other style manufacturers — known as ‘Ask For Mask’ to fight the lack of masks, eWe helped out the economically marginalised sections of Kerala’s populace. This allowed any man or woman, NGOs or other companies to donate masks thru this platform.
Incubated at MIZONE (Malabar Innovation and Entrepreneurship Zone), the startup has notaries such as Shilen Sagunan, leader govt, SS Consulting and P.K. Gopalakrishnan, CEO and MD at WeP Solutions, as mentors and is registered with KSUM.
“We attended many programmes of KSUM and were given the opportunity to hook up with many mentors from across India. In that, Robert Lobo, former-CEO, Raymond’s India, joined our startup as the reliable mentor. With his steering eWe is likewise below talks to amplify operations to Goa also,” Abhayan told cft at the future plans of the startup.
