GoCoop is the first online marketplace platform in India with an emphasis on bringing together regional buyers and producers of handloom and handicrafts. The company has happy clients not just in India but also abroad. It gives cooperatives more influence by facilitating their access to markets and benefits. GoCoop also makes it possible for cooperatives across the country to work with vendors, complementary co-ops, and wholesale buyers.
It gives weavers and artisans more power through effective commerce cooperation between cooperatives and customer markets. The industry’s inefficient pricing mechanism is one of the difficulties that has a significant negative impact on business. Therefore, a platform that links buyers and vendors with a platform that facilitates a robust market network is critically needed.
Genesis of GoCoop
Siva DeviReddy, an Arizona State University graduate with a degree in industrial engineering and management systems, created GoCoop in 2011. He made the decision to launch GoCoop with a wealth of expertise from organisations like Exemplary Inc. and Accenture.
Man Behind Gocoop: Siva DeviReddy
The inspiration for this idea came from his own personal experience while visiting his hometown of Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, where he was moved by the suffering of weavers. This experience made him realise that the issue is not with the quantity or quality of production, but rather with their inability to find the ideal channel to market their goods profitably, which results in the involvement of middlemen and other authorities and drives them into extreme poverty. The dots he connected to solve the issue from the grassroots has been successful due to his prior working experience.
Business Growth
The business strategy is so successful that GoCoop has quickly registered 4,300 cooperatives in states like Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, and Orissa, totaling about 60,000 producers. Over 8,000 registered customers have received more than 5,000 purchases from the business. The business is honoured to work with industry leaders in retail, including Aditya Birla, Reliance, and many more.
Leveraging Technology
GoCoop has successfully improved business operations by utilising technology. It has made life simpler for weavers and artisans who lack technical and marketing know-how by enabling them to build a platform that would greatly lower costs and increase system efficiency and effectiveness. Both buyers and sellers can readily find the handcrafted goods directly from producers at a more reasonable cost.
Funding
GoCoop secured a total of $70K from 5 investors, including Nitin Singhal, Unitus Ventures, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Saha Fund, and Indian Angel Network. The business generates $5M in revenue annually.
