GoCoop.com: Serving the Co-operative Segment with Niche e-Commerce Solutions Date:   Thursday , November 20, 2014 Allegorical novel \'The Alchemist\' states \"When you really want something to happen, the whole world conspires to help you achieve it.\" It is particularly true when it is for a righteous cause akin to promoting the livelihoods of the left-out rural residuum. GoCoop.com is yet another glorious example that is making a paradigm shift by introducing online marketplace to the artisans and weavers in rural India who have never seen a computer before. Many considerate investors, Co-op federations and government organizations are delighted to join hands with GoCoop to support their noble cause of conducting awareness sessions and promoting the technology in different clusters. It enabled the steadily growing company to market over 10000 products from around 175 Co-ops with over 50,000 artisans. GoCoop also has over 4000 registered Co-ops with 5,00,000 artisans along with 5000 registered buyers on the platform in a short journey of 3 years. GoCoop\'s unique patent-pending platform provides a wide range of services including marketing, collaboration and supporting for back-end operations. The company not only supports both B2B and B2C customers, but has also enabled social networking capabilities to promote collaboration among buyers and sellers. It gives a technology edge to Co-op users and members who have rarely used computer or internet by providing notifications and access to information through basic mobile services like SMS, email and voice messages. GoCoop has also developed multiple modes of delivery to enable easier access. Bridging the Gap Though Indian handloom is a magical sector that never goes out of fashion, the artisans and weavers behind its origin are grappling with inequitable pricing and inadequate demand for their products; mainly due to their inability to access markets and information. Meanwhile, the local traders sell the same products to retailers and export houses at a margin that is 3-5 times higher than the amount they paid to the artisan. This is further compounded by lack of aggregation and the artisan\'s inability to peddle their products themselves. Determined to put an end to this blatant injustice, Siva Devireddy instigated GoCoop.com in 2011. Instead of pursuing 12 years of corporate career or opening a flashy e-Commerce website effortlessly, Siva founded this social marketplace for artisan Co-ops and community based enterprises to showcase and sell their products online to facilitate a win-win for both producer and buyer by eliminating intermediaries. Having observed the imbalance of luxury between urban and rural lifestyles, Siva leveraged his knack for social entrepreneurship to make an impact utilizing ICT. When Siva explained the concept of GoCoop\'s Social marketplace to the management of one of the largest weavers co-op in India, APCO (Andhra Pradesh Handloom Weavers Co-op), they were impressed enough to sign up as GoCoop\'s first pilot e-Commerce customer. Initially it was a Herculean task to build a skilled team that had the zeal to work in social sector on a fairly new concept on full-time basis; as GoCoop was unable to offer the best salary in the industry. However, with well-deserved recognition, the company is currently proud to have a robust team which is not just passionate about technology and concept, but also in making a strong social impact. The company that endeavors to create a social enterprise with robust professional management follows an open culture, where all the employees are communicated on every important event and update on business regularity. The company never fails to appreciate their employees for their work. The employees are also motivated with quarterly incentives along with regular team outings. \"It is crucial for all our employees to understand the social impact in the work we are doing and strive towards achieving it along with our business objectives,\" says Siva Devireddy, Founder & CEO, GoCoop. Going Global In GoCoop\'s pilot phase, with exceptional R&D, the company has successfully built the beta product and registered over 1000 Co-ops within a year. GoCoop is currently keen on expanding their organization as well as developing rural marketing & service teams at the clusters as a part of their promotion phase. These teams would be built gradually per sector across identified districts and states. The company plans to cover 300 Clusters across India in the next 5 years. GoCoop would be partnering with large Co-ops and development organizations to promote their product and services in different regions. With their globalization phase, the company envisions to expand their services beyond India to provide market linkage to Indian products with potential buyers outside India. GoGoop will not rest their eyes until the company achieves their goal of contributing to livelihoods of a million people through their platform. Panel Key Management Siva Devireddy, Founder & CEO Siva has over 15 years of technology and consulting experience. Prior to founding GoCoop, he was the Director of Accenture\'s India Innovation Center for SAP. Offices: Bangalore and Hyderabad Services: Social Marketplace with B2B Listing and e-Commerce Services