Handicraft marketplace Direct Create raises funding

Jaipur-based Rajasthan Venture Capital Fund (RVCF) has invested an undisclosed amount in Direct Create Private Limited (DC), an online and offline B2B marketplace that brings together artisans, designers and buyers, according to a press statement.

"RVCF has invested in Direct Create through its third investment vehicle, RVCF India Growth Fund, which has a target corpus of Rs 300 crore ($44 million) and invests pan-India in IT, education, healthcare, fintech etc," said Girish Gupta, CEO, RVCF.

Gupta added that with the investment, Direct Create will look to make inroads into India's highly fragmented handicraft industry, which has more than 7 million regional artisans and over 67,000 exporters/export houses.

Founded by architects Rajeev Lunkad and Sheela Lunkad in 2016, Direct Create digitises the process of creation of handicrafts and other traditional items, and aims to provide enhanced market access to artisans.

"We aim to earn revenue from membership on the DC Platform, e-commerce, B2B partnerships, designer sales and direct retail. This investment by RVCF will help Direct Create carry out its immediate expansion plans," Rajeev and Sheela Lunkad said.

In the same space, Canvs.in, a community for artists and designers in India, had received an undisclosed amount in angel investment from Pratik Seal, former chief marketing officer at Housing.com, in September last year.

GoCoop.com, a social marketplace for buying and sourcing handmade apparel, home furnishing and fabrics directly from weavers and artisans, had received investment worth $830,000 from former Infosys vice-chairman Kris Gopalakrishnan and Saha Fund in July 2016.