Financing India's Next-Gen Startups Driving a Handmade Revolution

In this session, 200 Million Artisans, an impact-first ecosystem enabler supporting India’s craft-led brands, social businesses, and startups, will present key findings from their groundbreaking research, Business of Handmade, 2nd Edition - Financing a Handmade Revolution: How Catalytic Capital Can Jumpstart India’s Cultural Economy. The study, supported by the Catalytic Capital Consortium, mapped the financing needs of 516 enterprises across India’s creative manufacturing and handmade sector, revealing an extraordinary opportunity for impact-first investors.
Key Session Highlights:
Priya, Founder and CEO of 200 Million Artisans, will present how India’s creative manufacturing and handmade sector offers a trillion-dollar opportunity to drive dignified jobs, gender inclusion, and climate action at scale.
Insights into the segmentation of craft-led enterprises and the ideal financing fit for each enterprise segment.
Findings that show 88% of enterprises self-finance, while 91% are open to external financing, but only 1 in 10 have easy access to capital.
A remarkable 70% of enterprises support a workforce with an equal or more women skew, underscoring the sector’s critical role in advancing gender inclusion.
Hear directly from enterprises on how catalytic capital transformed their business trajectory and how investors can make the biggest impact.