Flipkart partners NIFT to help students turn entrepreneurs

The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) has partnered with online marketplace Flipkart to give training to its students in areas like creating private lables and marketing of products.

NIFT today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the e-commerce giant to work together on enhancing the market-oriented learning of the students and expose them to trends from across the globe.

"NIFT is involved with grass root level artisans across country, through its Academic Craft Clusters intervention. The missing linkage was students' access to market intelligence, market linkage and opportunities, which this association will provide," NIFT Director General Prem Kumar Gera said here.

The MoU with Flipkart will give the students access to other handloom, apparels, leather and accessory clusters. Besides, Flipkart's business model will give them access to a lot of analytical data that will bring alive consumer and business trends, he added.

Flipkart's Chief People Officer Mekin Maheshwari said fashion is an untapped market and today the industry needs capable and motivated people to drive it forward. Consumers are exposed to trends from across the globe and now expect creative as well as unique products.

"By giving this exposure to the NIFT students Flipkart will make a difference to the way they build their careers as well as allow them to be more relevant to the industries that they choose to enter," he added.

The partnership will enhance opportunities for students to develop their skills according to the career path that they wish to take, which could be to build private labels, become entrepreneurs, work with large fashion and retail brands or explore research and academics, Maheshwari said.

The scope of MoU also covers NIFT Alumni who have started their own business and are looking for new platforms to market their products. This is part of Flipkart's initiative 'Flipkart Kaarigar ke Dwaar'.