Live-commerce platform Peepul Tree, which connects Indian artisans and their craftsmanship to global consumers, has raised $6 million in a seed funding round led by Elevar Equity.
The startup will utilise the funds to onboard content creators to market their collections that showcase the rich heritage behind the products and strengthen the storytelling.
Peepul Tree will also use the capital to digitise the artisan supply chain and build technology to bring together artisans, content creators, and customers on a single platform.
With this round, Peepul Tree aims to support 100,000 artisans and more than 500 crafts and onboard 1,000 content creators on its platform by the end of 2023.
“We are committed to providing access to a global marketplace and a credible platform to artisans that have been at the helm of safeguarding centuries-old traditions and sustainable processes while ensuring the consumers discover and take back a conscious retail experience of a lifetime,” said Anish Williams, Founder, Peepul Tree.
Founded in 2022 by Anish Williams, Mini Menon, and Priya Jayaraman, Peepul Tree is a storytelling-powered live commerce platform, aimed at elevating the artisanal community in India. The startup aims to do so by building a global brand for handmade and sustainable Indian products and generating consistent demand for them.
The company works with artisanal communities and content creators by aggregating supply through a cluster-based approach, creating a steady stream of demand, and managing the entire supply chain and logistics to global consumers using a technology-enabled platform.
“This investment in Peepul Tree, in line with our other recent investments, showcases Elevar’s strong belief in the potential of rural India and is an opportunity to impact the livelihoods of millions of rural households,” Jyotsna Krishnan, Managing Partner, Elevar Equity, said. “While there are many players addressing this market, the nuances of business models differ significantly, and Peepul Tree is unique in its DNA that builds for the artisans.”
Peepul Tree’s content arm has over 5,000 stories and films on India’s heritage and arts.
