With the interest in Indian e-commerce and online marketplaces continues to grow, peer-to-peer commerce spaces are creating opportunities for both investors and start-ups alike. In line with the emerging trends, Gurgaon-based online marketplace for arts, crafts and design WorldArtCommunity has raised a round of angel investment of $200,000.
Launched this past winter by IIT alumnus Shobhit Arora, who has held senior positions in GE and Standard Chartered Bank, WorldArtCommunity is an online marketplace that enables artists, crafts-persons and designers to create their own online store and sell their creations. Setting up an online store through a self-serve model is free and there is a 10% commission on successful transactions charged by the website.
Arora shared:
“Our belief is that artists can find financial and personal reward using the power of collaborative technology. Being a true marketplace, we’ve been focused on building and curating the right set of partners and products. Within a span of three months, we have over 150 partner-artists and designers on board with over 2000 unique creations. We expect this funding to drive rapid growth and enable outreach out to a discerning audience who truly appreciate unique, handcrafted creations.”
One of the key investors in the project is Viraj Tyagi – Founder and CEO of Nettpositive Analytics, which has got recently acquired by Global Information Provider, Equifax. He explained:
“I’ve always been a strong proponent of marketplace model purely for the reasons of scalability and sustainability. Arts and Design market provides significant opportunity for growth, especially for a country like India.”
Looking at the future, Shobhit added:
“World Art Community aims to create an integrated ecosystem of art creators and art lovers. We would also be present in the real world art scene through participation and education. We ultimately seek to anticipate and set trends in creative lifestyle.”
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