Article
From Traditional Artisans to Modern Entrepreneurs: Unlocking the Value Chain in the Indian Footwear Industry
The handcrafted footwear industry of India is undergoing a historic transformation in its organization, which includes famous footwear craft clusters such as Kolhapuri belt (Maharashtra and Karnataka), Mojari and Jutti (Rajasthan and Punjab), huge leather craftsman complexes in Ambur, Kanpur and Agra. The traditional footwear making artisans who are trapped in unorganized supply chain, unequal access to markets, informal debt traps with high interest rates and with a lack of adequate sizing and ergonomic features are fast becoming self-directed micro, small and medium scale entrepreneurs (MSMEs). Within this extensive research monograph, a multi-faceted investigation into this transition is given. It highlights the direct-to-consumer (D2C) e-commerce, public credit interventions for targeted categories (MUDRA, PM-Vishwakarma, SFURTI), collaborations for design modernization with the top institutes (NIFT, FDDI, CFTIs) and cash-flow underwriting through the fintech mechanisms. The study gives a detailed map for scaling up ALD entrepreneurship in all parts of India, with detailed cluster-by-cluster case studies, comparative value-chain mapping, socio-economic impact indicators, operational bottleneck diagnostic tools and an action oriented 10-point policy road map.