India’s
HCMs

Meet the handmade and craft-led MSMEs (HCMs) who could just help India reach her goal of a $5 trillion (₹400 trillion) economy.

The driving force behind the CMH sector, they are market-aware, business-oriented, and are moving ahead with clear intent — to build profitable businesses that are purpose-first.

A new breed of young, dynamic, ambitious enterprises are leading a handmade revolution.

We find that six unique segments make up India’s HCMs

SEGMENT SIZE

2%

Input Innovators

Early value-chain innovators creating new, sustainable input materials using upcycling + recycling methods

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SEGMENT SIZE

45%

Diginative Upstarts

New-age enterprises that build differentiated, scalable, online brands leveraging social commerce

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SEGMENT SIZE

26%

Grassroots-to-Market Nurturers

Nonprofits or social enterprises working with artisan clusters in rural India

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SEGMENT SIZE

4%

Online Aggregators

Online marketplace aggregators of artisan clusters, smaller and larger HCMs, and other brands

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SEGMENT SIZE

1%

Process Enhancers

Tech-based disruptors looking to modernise a traditional system

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SEGMENT SIZE

22%

Lifestyle Curators

Premium / high-end conscious luxury brands catering to a smaller, more discerning market

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Note: Percentages based to total sample size in BoH’s Funding for Handmade Survey (2022-23) of HCMs i.e. N=516; market size of Input Innovators, Process Enhancers, Online Aggregators likely to be larger in reality.